Today we are up and on the bus to the Chinese Academy for Social Science. Today’s conversation is lead by 2 women scholars. It was a very candid and wonderful discussion. We talked about family and social issues. I learned today that if a family only has a girl, the parents are given a stipend of about 70$ a month to support them. The problem with having a girl is that when she marries she goes to live with her husband’s family and there is no one left to care for her parents. There is new legislation being introduced to give these families some support. It is the responsibility of the son to take care of his parents. With more and more people aging this going to become a major social problem. I am amazed at the amount of older people who are workin
g out in the park in the morning… these people have so much energy.Off to lunch and then the Forbidden City! The heat is overwhelming! We climb the tower that Chairman Mao would use to address the people in Tianmen Square. We begin to walk into the Forbidden City; we are climbing up and down through gates. Many of the buildings are under construction for the Olympics. As we walk through, we are looking for the Starbucks! Yes, and we found it! I get my iced latte – very yummy – I don’t care if I get sick from the ice, it will be worth it!
When you come to end of the Forbidden City we enter into the Imperial garden. In the Forbidden City there are no trees because the emperor was afraid that someone would hide behind a tree and attempt to assassinate him. The imperial garden is beautiful – the trees are ancient and amazing! There are dahlias and onion flowers.
As we leave the city we are swamped by beggars who are handicapped, missing limbs etc. It is extremely uncomfortable and they touch you looking for money… this is not a country to have disabilities – I have not idea how they would be able to use a squat toilet, most times in the bathroom you need to step up into the stall… Life is very hard for the Chinese!
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3 comments:
Hello Ms.Smith!
A while ago my mom was watching Oprah and it was about Chinese girls. It was talking about how the baby's parents will leave their baby girl on the street because they want a boy. It was really sad! I hope you are continuing to have a wonderful time in China!
Yes that is true Jenna, but when we asked our translator about it she had no idea this was happening in her own country. Most of the times it happens in the rural areas, not in the big cities. The government is working towards stopping this behavior. It is a cultural thing, it is going to take a few years for people to stop this.
We actually met with 2 women professors who have trying to get the government to look at the problem. We may see some changes in the future!
I never knew that! It's interesting, and very sad.
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