TV Preview: Wo Ai Ni (I Love You) Mommy, PBS, August 31 - Video - Blogcritics

TV Preview: Wo Ai Ni (I Love You) Mommy, PBS, August 31 - Video - Blogcritics

China Daily link "Brides and Prejudice in China"

China Daily published an article with an interesting glimpse of the impact the one child policy has on Chinese men of marrying age.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/2010-08/23/content_11192404.htm

Use Google for China adoption travel calls

Whether deciding on Skype, phone cards, or email as a source of communciation while traveling on a China adoption, there is always buzz about the best way to contact home. Now Google is offering its domestic and international telephone service. Calling China from the United States costs just 0.02 cents per minute. http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/call-phones-from-gmail.html

NPR on China Adoption and 'Meant for Each Other'

A wonderful adoption story turned into book. Scott Simon discusses his book ' Meant for Each Other,' a China adoption story is discussed on NPR.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129301982

Hukou and China's Household Registration System - China Adoption

A hokou is China's registration system, originating in ancient Chinese culture for tax purposes. In modern day China, governmental officials use a hokou to maintain records of birth and parental information. A hokou is determined by an individuals place of birth. Without the proper documentation from a persons place of birth, it is difficult to gain employment, find a place to live, seek socialized medical care, or send children to school. The Chinese government grants permission to move outside one's original hokou which is typically the result of bribery.

Some estimates indicate over 200 million of China's residence are affected as migrants living in different regions of the country. This is largely a result of the Chinese economy opening up over the last decade. Some parallel this group of persons to illegal immigrants in the United States. This particular group is called "floaters."

In the early 1980's, a persons hokou was so restrictive, it bound them to the small area they were born. If they traveled to another location, they were not allowed to do things like purchase food with regular currency. Instead you were required to purchase "Liangpio" or govermental currency to use during your travels. If they moved, they were not allowed to work or live in another location. There was no point in migrating from their original place of birth.

After 2003, a person could no longer be stopped on the street and asked for an identification card when visiting another city. People were detained for not producing the correct documentation, so the system has relaxed for people visiting other areas.




Related articles
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/03/05/the_princeling_and_the_paupers?page=0,1
http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20060610_hukou_system_in_china.htm

Highlights of China Marriage Law - China Adoption

As a parent of China adoption, I have been curious about how marital unions are formed in China due to traditions. I found the following information informative.


• 1950 – The year marriage laws were changed, allowing couples to marry outside of traditional arranged marriages. After the Marriage Law passed, it was “considered a landmark achievement for building a family, the basic unit of society, on the foundation of free will and equal rights since it formally ended the practice of arranged or forced marriages across the country.”


• 1980- The first time the Marriage Law was amended to include a ‘broken relationship’ as a precursor to divorce in modern society.


• In 2009, divorces increased by approximately 9%. The same year over 24 million people married and over 2 million people divorced. Extramarital affairs have become one of the most common reasons for divorce in the country. A higher number of people divorce in metropolitan areas as a result of an unfaithful spouse, while it is widely held that women in outlying rural areas are more tolerant with a lower rate of divorce for extramarital affairs.


• It is not common for women to remarry. Remarriage after divorce is considered socially inappropriate. A majority of women are not supported by community after remarriage. A high number of women report being mistreated by friends and neighbors after remarrying.

China Adoption and CCAA

None of us can forget the horrifying news that a child brought home through China adoption was killed at the hands of the people who were supposed to protect her the most. Her parents were a Tennessee couple and not the first parents, in the state, to receive media attention. Earlier this year, a Tennessee mother sent her Russian born son back on a plane having made arrangements for his arrival with a driver.


For this reason, the requirements of the CCAA will possibly change in the coming months. This will come in the form of more visits by caseworkers and eliminating the agencies involved in approving families involved in cases of abuse. “China has not yet officially determined what the new adoption regulations will be. But adoption officials do now confirm there will be more regular and complete reporting, along with serious penalties for failure to follow their guidelines,” according to WSMV TV of Nashville.

This story is being reported through the following online sites:
 
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/?id=11881780&q=china+adoption&p=1&st=1&sm=user
 
http://www.wsmv.com/news/24501796/detail.html

The Economist and Views on Infancide/China Adoption

In March, the Economist published an article on female infacide. As a parent of China adoption, I am educated on this topic, however it never fails to surprise me. Author George Bullard, raised the following points as they relate in infancide in China:

 

• The number of male singles in China equals the total male population in the United States.

• In China, an ultrasound scan costs less than $15.

• Infancide is a result of following factors: traditional views in relationship to a male heir, the desire for less children by modern Chinese families, and ultrasound scanning.

• South Korea once had an equal imbalance as China. In the last decade, this number has started to change, as a result of education and lawsuits based on discrimination.

• Northern India has experienced the same widening gap between males and females.

Favorite China travel toys

Outside of spending mornings completing paperwork or touring while paperwork was completed, we spent many hours in our room. This was for many purposes. For one, we could not tour continously with a toddler but take in a site a day. Also, the province, to which we traveled offered a museum and factory both of which we saw. Outside of "movement in the morning," as our tour guide said, we were back in the afternoon to nap and play. Toys became an integral part of our bonding. Here is a list of my favorite toys, remembering there might not be any play going on at all. Some children simply aren't ready, but it is great to be prepared.