Weblog with daily updates of the news on a frugal, fair and beautiful China, from the perspective of internet entrepreneur, new media advisor and president of the China Speakers Bureau Fons Tuinstra
Officially China does not allow single women to freeze their eggs and forces them to go abroad or even register children of single mothers to register. But demographic pressure is already changing those restrictions on a provincial level, says author Zhang Lijiain the Guardian who expects more changes to come.
The Guardian:
A study published last year by the economists Ren Zeping and Liang Jianzhang found that more than 65% of 30- to 34-year-olds hoped to preserve their fertility via egg freezing.
But the Chinese government has so far not welcomed this trend. In 2020, the national health commission said that allowing single women to freeze their eggs could give women “false hope” and encourage them to delay motherhood, “which is not conducive to protecting the health of women and offspring”. The topic of relaxing the rules around egg freezing is routinely discussed at China’s political meetings but so far the national policy has remained fixed.
Lijia Zhang, a writer who is working on a book about Chinese women’s changing attitudes towards marriage and motherhood, expects demographic pressures will force China’s policymakers to loosen restrictions. “It is just a matter of time before the authorities will relax the law,” Zhang said. “Without making a song and dance about it, most provinces have allowed single women to register their children and some places even give them maternity benefits.”
Author Ian Johnson recently published Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and their Battle for the Future, and discusses the dominance of women as underground historians with Jeffrey Wasserstrom at the Los Angeles World Affairs Council. Women are relative outsiders in China’s power structures which puts them in a good position to document the country’s history, he says.
While fixing the dropping birth rate in China might be challenging, improving the current position of single mothers should be a no-brainer, says author Zhang Lijia in the South China Morning Post. Some provinces have started to deal with the Sishengzi, or “secretly born child”, as a growing number of women do not want to marry, but still want to have a child, she writes.
Zhang Lijia:
Sishengzi, or “secretly born child”, is a derogatory term to describe children born out of wedlock. For a woman to raise such a child in China used to be as difficult as climbing up the sky. To start with, without a marriage certificate, this child would not be able to get registered, which meant they could not go to a state school, take a flight or get vaccinated.
However, there are signs that suggest the Chinese government has begun to loosen control to a certain degree. In recent years, provinces such as Sichuan, Guangdong, Anhui and Shaanxi have issued new regulations that allow unmarried mothers to register their children. More governments are likely to follow suit.
In July, the authorities in Xian announced that single mothers could now apply for child subsidies and insurance. These developments are encouraging, but in my view, the central government needs to go much further.
The new regulations were developed amid increasing concerns of a plummeting birth rate. China allowed couples to have two children in 2016, with the limit going up to three children five years later, but not enough couples have taken up the offer. China’s fertility rate dropped to a record low of 1.09 last year. The enormous cost of raising a child and changing values have also contributed to this alarming trend.
A star-studded Chinese TV drama delving into workplace sexual harassment titled Imperfect Victim recently ended but the debate it triggered rages on. The show, which ran to 29 45-minute episodes, centres on a rape case: beautiful, young personal assistant Zhao Xun accuses her powerful and handsome boss, Cheng Gong, the company president, of raping her. But the case is complex, and so are the characters involved.
Within three months, Cheng, a married man, promotes Zhao from a trainee to the position of senior assistant, multiplies her salary and showers her with gifts worth 880,000 yuan (US$122,170). She makes little attempt to stop him. Then one rainy night, the police turn up at the company’s apartment suite, having received an anonymous tip-off about rape. Zhao, traumatised and confused, denies she has been violated. Five days later, she files a lawsuit against him.
The popular and high-quality drama led to a heated discussion among the audience about the nature of sexual harassment, gender inequality, the unbalanced power play in the office and, interestingly, who is really the victim…
Zhou Xiaoxuan, a prominent face in China’s #MeToo movement, was also sued for defamation after she accused Zhu Jun, a high-profile TV presenter, of sexual assault. She countersued, demanding an apology and compensation, and failed. Last year, her appeal was dismissed after a court in Beijing ruled that she lacked sufficient evidence. This was hardly a surprising result. High legal barriers and social stigma have silenced many victims.
I am delighted to see a TV drama like Imperfect Victim dealing with such serious social issues head on. For centuries, Confucianist ideas that women are inferior dominated Chinese society. It is partly due to the deeply rooted patriarchal culture that sexual harassment is prevalent in the workplace, so much so that on International Women’s Day this year, the government issued a guidance specifically to combat the problem.
But I do find the title Imperfect Victim problematic in that it might further encourage a victim-blaming culture. Let’s not focus on the weaknesses of the victim but examine the perpetrator with a critical eye. A victim is a victim, whether she is perfect or not.
Women account for 70% of the purchases in China’s households, and marketing expert Ashley Dudarenok looks into the 2023 trends for the female consumer at China’s Women’s Day, for the Jing Daily. Most of China’s platforms dive deep into this important segment of consumers.
Ashley Dudarenok:
These business opportunities are set to expand as China’s “she economy” thrives, driven by financially independent young women, particularly those from the millennial and Gen-Z generations, spending on themselves for their own happiness rather than fulfilling traditional roles.
This growth has propelled the emergence of female-centric businesses catering to women’s preferences and needs, making China the world’s third-largest consumer market for women, equivalent to the combined retail markets of Germany, France, and the UK, reports the South China Morning Post. The shift has also prompted other businesses to target female consumers and promote gender equality in their workforce.
The COVID-19 pandemic both positively and negatively impacted China’s “she economy.” E-commerce and digital platforms accelerated, benefiting female consumers who shop online, and female representation in companies improved, while women in the workforce, particularly in the service sector, have lost jobs or experienced reduced hours.
These dynamics are fueling the rise of trends that brands must master to succeed.
Rupert Hoogewerf, Hurun Report Chairman and Chief Researcher, looks for the 2022 Hurun Richest Women in China list at who those women are. In his 17th year, women have been doing better, despite the global downturn for the rich over the past few years.
Compared to the rest of the world, China has the most female billionaires, while Guangzhou tops the list. Rupert Hoogewerf, the Hurun Rich list chief researcher, explains why China and especially Guangzhou is doing better than other countries in Money Control.
Money Control:
Guangdong in South China is the cradle of the world when it comes to self-made women billionaires, the report added.
Interestingly, New York, the city with the most billionaires outside of China, has only a single self-made woman billionaire.
Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report explains why the numbers are so high in China as compared to other countries.
“The self-made women billionaires in the world tell the story of the most successful women in business and these stories start with China. Why does China have two thirds of the world’s self-made women billionaires, more than double the rest of the world combined? There are historical, political, social and economic dynamics at play here,” he explained.
Japan, Germany, France, Canada and South Korea are the world’s largest economies without a single self-made woman billionaire. The 124 known self-made women billionaires come from just 16 countries, meaning that 180 countries still do not have a single one.
The Hurun Research Institute released the richest self-made women in the world on Wednesday. Topping that list from China is Beijing-based property developer Wu Yajun. The 58-year-old has an estimated worth of $17 billion. Yajun and her ex-husband Cai Kui cofounded Longfor in 1993 cofounder.
The number of self-made women billionaires has increased, especially in China, says Rupert Hoogewerf, chief researcher of the Hurun Report, who released earlier in March the 2022 Rich List, according to Money Control. “There are historical, political, social, and economic dynamics at play here,” he says.
Money Control:
Meanwhile, commenting on the report, Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report, said, “There are 124 self-made women billionaires in the world today, double that of five years ago and 100 more than ten years ago.”
Speaking about the the most successful women entrepreneurs in China, he added, “The self-made women billionaires in the world tell the story of the most successful women in business and these stories start with China. Why does China have two thirds of the world’s self-made women billionaires, more than double the rest of the world combined?”
“There are historical, political, social and economic dynamics at play here. One indicator can be seen from the Hurun China Private Companies SDG Readiness Index 2021, where Chinese businesses performed strongly in United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 Gender Equality.”
China’s authorities first raised the number of allowed children from two to three per family, and might now even cancel all restrictions. Journalist Zhang Lijia, author of Lotus: A Novel(January 2017) on prostitution in China, looks at the troubled relationship between feminism and motherhood in her mother country, in an interview with the Italian publication Il Manifesto.
Il Manifesto:
Let’s start with the news: what has been the reaction of Chinese civil society to the third-child policy?
Overall, the reaction has been less than enthusiastic. The news has been met with puzzlement, cynicism, derision and even anger.
After all, this new family planning guideline doesn’t require that couples have three children, it only allows them to. So how do you explain this level of discontent?
Yes, that’s true. Married couples can have three children, but they are not required to. Nevertheless, it is not difficult to understand the discontent: young Chinese couples are in such economic and material conditions that they simply cannot think of supporting three children. Many are already struggling with one child; or can’t even afford to have one at all. Only wealthy families can afford three children, and in this situation, many are feeling frustrated. Others are finding it hard to swallow that the government limited the number of births until a few years ago, and is now encouraging having more children without offering any practical support. The prevailing sentiment is that the authorities have bypassed the views of the citizens on this issue.
It seems that today, many young Chinese people, especially young women, are less and less enthusiastic about the idea of having children. Where does this reluctance come from?
First of all, life in China today is expensive, and raising a child is expensive as well, especially when you consider the cost of education. Even though education is compulsory and free for nine years, parents, especially in large urban centers, are competing to enroll their children in additional classes and extracurricular activities, such as piano and English lessons.
Another problem is the limited availability of early childcare facilities. It is estimated that only 0.5 percent of children ages 0 to 3 are able to go to preschool. Young couples are forced to rely on their parents or hire babysitters, incurring extra costs. The trend of not having children is driven by women: mainly professionals, who live in cities and are highly educated, because they have more to lose and because they have become more assertive with the internet and contact with international developments.
Many are hesitant about having children because of sexism in the labor market. In fact, some Chinese companies are refusing to hire women of childbearing age, or firing them if they become pregnant. I’ve heard stories of women who had to pledge they won’t have children as a precondition for employment. To address this issue, in 2019 the government barred employers from asking women if they are married or have children during job interviews. Their intentions were good, but the concrete results have been insufficient, to say the least.
For women who have risen into managerial positions, there is also the concern that having children will jeopardize their careers. The fact that there is a hostile environment toward working mothers in many workplaces has deterred many women from motherhood. It should also be noted that people’s attitudes toward procreation have changed dramatically. It used to be considered part of filial duties. An ancient Chinese saying goes, “Of the three actions that betray filial piety, the worst is not having children.” Few of today’s young people, many of whom are only children focused on self-fulfillment, see having children as a duty.
There has also been a lot of talk lately about some women embracing the principles associated with “6B4T,” a movement that expresses a radical rejection of marriage and motherhood. What is it about and what needs does it express?
6B4T is a feminist movement that originated in South Korea in 2019 and which brings together women determined to exclude men from their lives, thus rejecting the roles of wives and mothers, which have their origin in patriarchy. The “6 Bs” and “4 Ts” consist of not having romantic or sexual relationships with men; not marrying or having children; not buying misogynistic products; rejecting beauty standards and the hyper-sexualization of women in the culture industry; and offering help to other single women.
Like their Korean sisters, some Chinese women have rejected marriage and motherhood. The reason is that because of their roles as wives and mothers, they are not being treated the same as men, but also that they no longer see marriage or motherhood as necessary conditions for happiness. From what I understand, some of the followers of 6B4T are LGBTQ+ persons, but not all. In some cases, I think they are just women who are disappointed or traumatized by their experiences with men. They are mostly young, urban, and educated.
China’s new three-child policy has received a lackluster reception among its population. Author Zhang Lijia offers a few tips for the government to make its policy attractive for women: offer financial incentives, significantly expand its childcare capacity, and promote women-friendly policies and equality, she writes in the South China Morning Post.
Zhang Lijia:
Why aren’t young people keen on having children these days? First, living costs – and child-rearing costs – are high. Although the state offers nine years of compulsory education, urban parents are all vying to sign up their children for extra lessons and extracurricular activities, from English to piano.
The availability of childcare services in China is another headache. Young couples often have to rely on their parents or hire child minders, which only adds to the cost.
Furthermore, many educated professional women hesitate to have children due to the prevalence of sexual discrimination in the job marketplace.
Some companies refuse to hire women of child-bearing age or sack them if they become pregnant. I have heard stories of women being required to promise not to have children as a precondition for employment.
To deal with the issue, Chinese government agencies even issued a notice in 2019, forbidding prospective employers from asking female job candidates whether they were married or have children. While well intentioned, such a move was weak, to say the least.
For the women who have worked their way up to managerial positions, there is the worry that motherhood may send them back down the career ladder. The unfriendly environment for working mothers has deterred many women from having babies…
Evidence suggests that equality is good for fertility. Look at Europe as an example. France and Scandinavia have higher birth rates than southern European countries such asItaly, Spain and Portugal, which have less gender equality and more rigid family norms, and where new mothers are expected to stay at home.
In contrast, France and the Nordic countries have a relaxed attitude to family norms. Their governments offer equal support to families that come in different forms: married couples, unwed couples, same-sex couples and single parents.
The Chinese government should allow single women to have children, should they wish, and grant equal rights to their children.
The current fertility rate in China is 1.3, while last year, Chinese women on average were willing to have 1.8 children, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. So, if China plays its cards right, there should be room for growth.
Two-thirds of the world’s richest women come from China, says the latest Hurun Rich List report. “If we want to understand the global women entrepreneurship, we have to start from China. China has been home to more than two-thirds of the world’s most successful women entrepreneurs in the past decade,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief research officer of Hurun Global Rich List in the state-owned Global Times.
The Global Times:
China is home to two thirds of the most successful women entrepreneurs in the world, three times the number of the US, a Hurun report showed. The Hurun Research Institute released the Hurun Richest Self-Made Women in the World 2021 on Wednesday, a list of self-made women billionaires across the world. This is the 11th year the list has been published. The list showed that the number of self-made women entrepreneurs with 1 billion dollar asset threshold grew by 30 percent in 2020, to reach a record of 130 people. Chinese women take the lead on the list, as 85 of them are from China, 24 more from last survey. The US ranked second with 25 people and the UK ranked third with 6. Also, China takes nine of the top 10 this year and accounts for nearly 80 percent of the new faces on the list this year. “If we want to understand the global women entrepreneurship, we have to start from China. China has been home to more than two-thirds of the world’s most successful women entrepreneurs in the past decade,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief research officer of Hurun Global Rich List. Zhong Huijuan, 60, of Hansen Pharmaceutical, in East China’s Jiangsu Province, has become the world’s most successful female entrepreneur for the second year in a row with a wealth of 150 billion yuan ($23.34 billion). Narrowing it down, Beijing city is the hub for “the most successful women entrepreneurs in the world”, with 16 rich women, followed by Shanghai, Hangzhou and Shenzhen.
Consumers in China are very different from those elsewhere. Take jewelry, says consumption guru Ashley Dudarenok: they used to be gifts for women, but nowadays they purchase themselves, as a reward, she says at her vlog.
Most female billionaires call China their home country, says Rupert Hoogewerf, chief researcher of the Hurun Research Institute, according to the Korea Times.China’s 85 female billionaires amount to two-thirds of the 130 women billionaires in the world.
Korea Times:
China is home to the most self-made women entrepreneurs in the world, according to a new report.
The country minted 24 new female billionaires to start 2021, bringing the total number to 85, said Hurun Research Institute.
China’s 85 female billionaires amount to two-thirds of the 130 women billionaires in the world.
While the number of women billionaires grew 30 per cent from last year, the 3,098 male billionaires dwarf the 130 self-made women billionaires.
Rupert Hoogewerf, the chairman and chief researcher at Hurun, told the?South China Morning Post?that the rest of the world needs to “wake up” to the dominance of Chinese women entrepreneurs. Chinese women make up 70 per cent of the world’s most successful women entrepreneurs.
People need to study China and see “what’s hampering women elsewhere to build businesses of that size,” he added.
Hurun Research Institute found nine out of the top ten self-made women billionaires are from China and eight out of ten new faces are from China.
(January 2017) on prostitution in China, looks at the troubled relationship between feminism and motherhood in her mother country, in an interview with the
