Childproof

China | The effects of Beijing’s one-child policy are different in urban and rural areas, but the entire country is feeling the weight of a generation-long mistake | Becky Perry

ANHUI PROVINCE, China— On a muggy afternoon, a 3-year-old Chinese girl stands poised on the bank of a muddy pond at the family farm. Tiny ponytails sprout from her head.

The branch that doubles as her fishing pole arches toward the water, but she grips it tightly. Her big black eyes survey the ripples and reflections in the pond, as she waits in silence for the promised fish to bite.

The family calls her Xiao Meimei, which means "little sister." But according to official reproductive policy in the People's Republic of China, Xiao Meimei should never have been born.

First instituted in 1979, the Chinese "Planned Birth" policy targeted population growth as an obstacle to economic modernization. As China aggressively pursued market reforms under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, top birth-control officials concurrently established a strict fertility regime.

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July 29, 2006, Vol. 21, No. 29

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