Yesterday, I posted that, sadly, financial problems are causing more Taiwanese families to self destruct. The state of the economy here at home and worldwide is placing a strain on individuals and families in many ways from losing their jobs, their homes and for some their chidlren. It is nothing short of tragic when people are so desperate that they are forced to hand over their flesh and blood offspring.
Now, perhaps it is just me. Perhaps I am unfairly reading "tone" into a blog post. I am sure, it was unintended. Tou decide.
Please read: "Number of Chinese kids Up for Adoption on the Rise" at Babble, a popular parenting site.
For me, the tone of this post sounds upbeat about this news. More babies. Goody!
I find it interesting that it neglects to mention the major point made in the announcement of this increase by Taiwan Child Welfare
“Nearly 90 percent of the parents who phoned the Child Welfare League Foundation to ask about putting their children up for adoption between 2003-2008 did so due to financial problems, foundation spokesman Chen Ya-hui said, citing statistics compiled by the foundation.
“The number of phone calls made to the foundation for this purpose posed a significant 55 percent rise over the past five years, increasing from 495 cases in 2003 to 770 in 2008, according to Chen.
“For the first 10 months of this year, the foundation accepted 511 phone calls on the issue, an average of 1.7 calls daily, the statistics show.
“Eighty-seven percent of those who made the calls did so because of financial difficulties, representing a remarkable surge from 50 percent in January 2008 to 96 percent in September of the same year, with the percentage reaching 100 percent in January, March and June 2009, according to Chen.”
The omission of that crucial part of this story — the tragedy causes families to need to lose their children — very telling.That's what the story out of Taiwan was all about and yet all this bog post has to say about it is that there are more babies "available" for adoption!
Reaping the spoils of family destruction and loss puts a vulture-like spin on adoption.
I have always recognized that infertility is a grievous loss. But we have also lost and so too are these families. How can you "cure" your loss at the expense of another's? Or does their poverty justify it?
It almost makes me wonder if people lose all of their compassion when they lose their ability to procreate.
I wonder too if people in need of organ transplants sit around wishing for plane crashes or other diasters that will leave people dead swith lots of "spare parts"? Some TV medical dramas suggest those who care people in such need do.
What do you think?
1 comment:
There is an interesting article up at Monthly Review:
http://www.monthlyreview.org/091214dongping.php
>>As expenditures of the township government increase, the ways to extract money from farmers multiply, now that the agricultural tax has been eliminated. Many township governments use family planning as a way to get money from farmers. In order to get a permit to have a child, farmers have to bribe the village and township government officials. Some township and village leaders sell birth permits to farmers who have money. In some places, local officials even encourage rich farmers to have more children so that they can get “fines” from them. In such a social context, farmers question the political legitimacy of the central government, as well as county and village officials. Another way of making money is the confiscation of land by local and regional officials, who then sell the land at a profit for “development,” without adequately compensating the farmers — thus adding greatly to the rural ferment."<<
This points up the lie that it is a horrid and alien Communist China enforcing family planning laws; it is in fact the local comprador class extracting profit from the peasant/working class. So you have one bourgeois class internal to China helping out the bourgeoisie in the United States obtain babies at a healthy profit. No wonder they protest MORE when the supply dries up.
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