What I've been learning about Adoption in China

I've just finished reading "Wanting a Daughter, Needing a Son" by Kay Johnson, about the orphanages, abandonments, and adoptions in China from the early 90s through the early 00s. Granted, it was a compilation of academic studies done at various times, so some of the material was a little dated, but I thought I'd share some of the things I have learned.

1. China's "One Child" policy is not exactly that. In many rural areas, the policy has been relaxed to be "One son or two children", meaning that if the first child is a daughter, the couple will be allowed to try a second time to have another child. The intentions of the rule were originally probably good, in that implementation could have slowed runaway population growth, when resources would not have been able to match them (food, water, etc.). However, implementation caused many undesired side effects.

2. There is no state-supported retirement system. Sons are expected to provide for their parents in the parents' old age. These two things go hand-in-hand. There is no system because sons are supposed to provide, and sons must provide because there is no system. Thus the extreme need for a son from each couple.

3. A daughter, when she marries, becomes fully part of her husband's family and essentially breaks most, if not all, ties to her current family. She is to be part of the support system for her husband's parents. Thus, instead of our Western notion of "Two families coming together", it really is more about "Giving a daughter away". This, too, makes extra daughters (above 1) somewhat useless.

4. Parents feel that a son and a daughter make a family complete. Thus there is a need for a son, and a desire for a daughter. Some families will turn to adoption if their first child is a son and they still want a daughter. Unfortunately, this could end up being punished, as local birth planning officials may want to fine the couple for essentially supporting someone else who broke the rules and had too many children, necessitating an abandonment.

5. The "One son or two children" policy was not always strictly enforced. Even when it was, some parents were willing to sacrifice by paying large sums (up to or more than a year's wages) to keep a higher-order birth child.

6. Adoption is prevalent in China, with a majority of the adoptions covered in the book happening through informal means, perhaps after a strategic abandonment on the steps of a childless couple who could take care of a daughter. Some rules surrounding adoption seemed to be made more in the interests of the state than in the interests of the children. For example adoption was not promoted as a good way to rid the state of persons who might otherwise be their responsibility; instead, adoption rules were very strict so that people who were considering abandoning babies would find less of a "market" for their children, thus adding pressure to limit pregnancies. Too, some of the adoptive parents were adopting in violation of the One Son or Two Children policy, to ensure that both genders of child were in the home. They, too, were fined, but because of their desire to see a better outcome for their children, were willing to pay such fines.


I'll have some more tomorrow.