The problem of too many men and not enough women in Chinese villages is likely to become much worse, a researcher warned.
China has 32 million more men aged under 20 than women, a paper published last month by Therese Hesketh of University College London. Her research suggests that rural areas, where the imbalance is greatest, will be further affected because of women “marrying out” and going to live in cities.
“It looks as if high sex-ratio areas, particularly in central China, are likely to get worse. Because of migration, we are hearing again and again that women are going to urban areas and staying. In rural areas that will exacerbate the sex ratio very markedly,” she said.
“In the past, migrants have tended to go back home to permanently settle. But women [now] are finding partners in urban areas and not going back. Men are unable to do that. Urban women will not marry a migrant man; men can’t marry up,” she said.
Hesketh said her team had not set out to investigate the problem, but rural men had frequently raised the issue. The researchers are now embarking on a fuller study to try to assess the extent of the problem.
Farmers have been migrating to cities since the 1990s, but Hesketh believes the numbers have soared as it becomes easier for migrants to settle in the cities.
Her paper in the British Medical Journal last month, which was coauthored by Wei Xing Zhu of Zhejiang Normal University, and Li Lu of Zhejiang University, says China has 119 male births for every 100 girls, compared with a ratio of 107 to 100 in industrialized countries.
“We have never seen these sex ratios before. There have been populations where the sex ratio has altered, but never to this degree,” Hesketh said.
The biggest male-female gap is among children under the age of four, meaning the problem of “bare branches” — young men who cannot find partners or have children — is likely to increase.
The gap is greater in provinces that allow couples in rural areas to have a second child if their first is a girl, since many families are determined to ensure they have at least one son. Among second-borns, boys outnumber girls by 143 to 100. The data is based on the 2005 census.
Sex-selective abortion, banned but still widely practiced, is the main reason for the higher number of males, the study suggests.
Also See: Greater expectations in the hinterland
Trinidad and Tobago declared a new state of emergency on Friday after authorities accused a criminal network operating in prisons across the country of plotting to kill key government officials and attack public institutions. It is the second state of emergency to be declared in the twin-island republic in a matter of months. In December last year, authorities took similar action, citing concerns about gang violence. That state of emergency lasted until mid-April. Police said that smuggled cellphones enabled those involved in the plot to exchange encrypted messages. Months of intelligence gathering led investigators to believe the targets included senior police officers,
FOREST SITE: A rescue helicopter spotted the burning fuselage of the plane in a forested area, with rescue personnel saying they saw no evidence of survivors A passenger plane carrying nearly 50 people crashed yesterday in a remote spot in Russia’s far eastern region of Amur, with no immediate signs of survivors, authorities said. The aircraft, a twin-propeller Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar at about 1pm. A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a forested mountain slope about 16km from Tynda. Videos published by Russian investigators showed what appeared to be columns of smoke billowing from the wreckage of the plane in a dense, forested area. Rescuers in
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is to meet US President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila’s status as a key Asian ally would secure a more favorable trade deal before the deadline on Friday next week. Marcos would be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term. Trump has already struck trade deals with two of Manila’s regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia, driving tough bargains in trade talks even with close allies that Washington needs to keep onside in its strategic rivalry with China. “I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also
RSS