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Gender gap still wide in China

THE trend of gender imbalance among newborns in China has narrowed since 2005 but the problem remains "very grave," according to new figures released by the National Population and Family Planning Commission.

Survey results from 28 provinces show that the imbalance of male infants to female infants declined in 17 provinces from 2005 figures.

However, they rose slightly in seven provinces and remained a major problem in four, said Jiang Fan, deputy minister of the National Population and Family Planning Commission.

He didn't give the exact figures, but said the ratio was still high above an average level, which is accepted at about 103-107 boys to 100 girls.

An analysis of statistics from population and family planning, education and public security departments showed that between 2006 to 2008, the ratio fell two percentage points from the 119:100 reported in 2005.

China adopted the current family planning policy in the late 1970s to curb population explosion.

The plan basically limited families to one child and encouraged late marriages and late childbearing.

The gender imbalance problem can be traced back to the late 1980s when B-ultrasound technology used for gender identification of fetuses became available.

Some Chinese women, out of traditional male favoritism, often chose to abort after learning they were carrying female fetuses.



 

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