导游网 www.daoyou.org: 中国性别失衡日趋严重 China's gender imbalance 'likely to get worse'

中国性别失衡日趋严重

Tania Branigan in Beijing guardian.co.uk, (英国卫报）
Tuesday 19 May 2009 22.00 BST

随着越来越多的农村女性嫁进城，中国农村的男女比例失衡愈加严重。

专家警告，中国农村男多女少的问题愈加严重。

英国伦敦大学学院（University College
London）教授特蕾莎·赫斯基上月发表的论文指出，中国20岁以下的男性比女性多3200万。她最近的研究显示，在男女比例失衡最严重的农村地区，由于许多女性都选择嫁到城里去
，因而情况会进一步恶化。

"看起来，在男女比例高的地区，特别是中国中部地区，问题将越来越严重，"她说道。"因为人口在迁移，我们不断地听到有关女性进城并留在城里的故事。这加重了农村地区男女比例失调的问题。"

"过去，迁移的人口最终会回到农村定居下来。但是女性们（现在）都在城里找到自己的另一半，并留在城里。而男性却无法这么做，城里的女性通常不会嫁给农村人，男性就只能打光棍了。"

赫斯基说她的团队本来并没有打算对这个问题进行调研，但是农村的男性经常会提出这一问题。这些研究者们正准备对这个问题进行更加全面的分析和评估。

"我认为这是个全新的问题。也可能官方了解这种情况，但却不公开讨论。"她补充道。

从90年代开始，农民就开始向城市迁移，但是赫斯基认为最近几年迁移人口开始快速增长，并且农民也更容易在城里扎下根来。

上个月，她与浙江师范大学的朱维兴教授和浙江大学的卢丽教授合作在《英国医学杂志》上发表了一篇论文，其中提到，中国新生儿的男女比例已经达到了119比100，而在工业化国家里这个数字是107比100。

"我们以前从来没见过如此高的男女性别比例。在很多族群中，男女性别比例都存在异常，但是从来没有这么高的。"赫斯基补充道。

男女比例落差在四岁以下的人群中达到最大，这意味着"打光棍"（年轻男性找不到配偶并无法繁衍后代）的问题会愈加严重。而在允许生第二胎（如果第一胎是女孩的话）的省份里，男女比例落差会更大。2005年的调查显示，在第二胎中，男孩与女孩的比例达到了143比100。

这篇论文指出，在中国屡禁不止的性别选择性流产是造成男性如此多的主要原因。在谈到许多国家的男女比例都不均衡时，论文阐述道："在实行计划生育的背景下，中国的男女比例失衡问题远超其他国家不足为奇。"

赫斯基说许多家庭想要男孩是有原因的，为的是有壮劳力和"养儿防老"，而传统观念上也认为男孩才能传宗接代。

但是她补充道："我们认为男女比例问题已经达到了峰值。人们开始意识到如果大家都生男孩，但长大了却娶不到老婆，也不是什么好事。"

政府已经意识到男性过多将带来社会的不稳定，并且已经出台政策鼓励生女孩了。

China's gender imbalance 'likely to get worse'

Problem of too many men is exacerbating as rural women 'marry out'
into cities, says researcher

The problem of too many men and not enough women in Chinese villages
is likely to become much worse, a leading researcher in the field has
warned.

China has 32m more men aged under 20 than women, according to a paper
published last month by Therese Hesketh, of University College London.
Her latest research suggests that rural areas – where the imbalance is
at its greatest – will be further affected because women are "marrying
out" into cities.

"It looks as if high sex ratio areas, particularly in central China,
are likely to get worse," she said. "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.

"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."

Hesketh said her team had not set out to investigate the problem but
rural men were frequently raising the issue. The researchers are now
embarking on a fuller study to try to assess the extent of the
problem.

"I think this is very new. If [official] planners know about it,
they're not talking about it," she added.

Farmers have been migrating to cities since the 90s, but Hesketh
believes the numbers have soared in recent years and it has become
easier for migrants to settle in the cities.

Her paper in the BMJ last month, which was coauthored by Professor Wei
Xing Zhu, of Zhejiang Normal University, and Professor Li Lu, of
Zhejiang University, said that China has 119 male births for every 100
girls, compared with 107 to 100 in industrialised 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 added.

The biggest male-female gap is among under-fours, meaning the problem
of "bare branches" – young men who can't find partners or have
children – is likely to increase.

The gap is greater in provinces that allow couples to have a second
child if the first is a girl. Among second-born children, boys
outnumbered girls by 143 to 100. The data is based on the 2005 census.

The paper suggested that sex-selective abortion – banned in China but
widely practised – was the main reason for a higher number of males.
While noting that many nations have disproportionate sex ratios, it
added: "In the era of the one-child policy the fact that the problem
of excess males in China seems to outstrip that of all other countries
is perhaps no surprise."

Hesketh said many families wanted males for practical reasons; to work
the land and support them in their old age, as well as because they
were traditionally viewed as more valuable.

But she added: "We think the sex ratio at birth is probably peaking
now. People are recognising that if they have male children who can't
marry when they're older that it's not a good thing."

The government has expressed concerns that too many men could lead to
social instability and is expanding programmes that encourage people
to have female children.

导游网 www.daoyou.org

5/19/2009

中国性别失衡日趋严重 China's gender imbalance 'likely to get worse'

先前帖子