In November 2005, the nation’s 50,000th Chinese adoptee joined an American family. Most of these families cherish a photograph just like this one; an image that captures the newly adopted child, with members of his or her orphanage cohort, in the lobby of the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, China.
Asian children have long comprised the majority in American Inter-Country Adoption (ICA). In fact, many attribute the birth of ICA in America to the adoption of Japanese children after World War II. While over 100,000 Korean children have been adopted by parents in the U.S. since the end of the Korean War in 1958, China has recently emerged as the foremost “sending” Asian nation – and foremost “sending” nation, more generally – in American ICA.
Growing alongside this contingent of American families is public and academic interest in ICA from China. Cable news programs like National Geographic follow American parents’ China adoption trips. U.S.-based corporations like American Express and Kodak utilize China adoption story-lines in their commercials. Newspaper articles like “Love has no borders: Couple bridges desire for children with Chinese adoptions” profile American families created through adoption. Additionally, as the headline “Love has no borders” also indicates, China adoption has also become a fertile case study for an expanding sociological literature on boundaries; it brings to life many of our most salient borders while it highlights their very permeability.
Prof. Dr. Li Hanlin | Vice Director, Institute of Sociology, The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing China says:
More than a fifth of the world's population lives in China today. Even though the Chinese government has implemented a fairly strict one-child policy, the Chinese population will continue to grow until it is estimated to level off sometime before 2100. The policy was enforced with reward and punishment; it has been largely successful. This policy, however, is creating serious social issues such as gender imbalance (especially at marriageable ages) and orphans. The policy is somewhat controversial in term of birth control methods, in particular, mass sterilizations and forced abortions.
You must be a Rachel Tanur Memorial Prize applicant to submit an essay response.
2 Essays
Amy Traver | Stony Brook University says:
In November 2005, the nation’s 50,000th Chinese adoptee joined an American family. Most of these families cherish a photograph just like this one; an image that captures the newly adopted child, with members of his or her orphanage cohort, in the lobby of the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou, China.
Asian children have long comprised the majority in American Inter-Country Adoption (ICA). In fact, many attribute the birth of ICA in America to the adoption of Japanese children after World War II. While over 100,000 Korean children have been adopted by parents in the U.S. since the end of the Korean War in 1958, China has recently emerged as the foremost “sending” Asian nation – and foremost “sending” nation, more generally – in American ICA.
Growing alongside this contingent of American families is public and academic interest in ICA from China. Cable news programs like National Geographic follow American parents’ China adoption trips. U.S.-based corporations like American Express and Kodak utilize China adoption story-lines in their commercials. Newspaper articles like “Love has no borders: Couple bridges desire for children with Chinese adoptions” profile American families created through adoption. Additionally, as the headline “Love has no borders” also indicates, China adoption has also become a fertile case study for an expanding sociological literature on boundaries; it brings to life many of our most salient borders while it highlights their very permeability.
Prof. Dr. Li Hanlin | Vice Director, Institute of Sociology, The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing China says:
More than a fifth of the world's population lives in China today. Even though the Chinese government has implemented a fairly strict one-child policy, the Chinese population will continue to grow until it is estimated to level off sometime before 2100. The policy was enforced with reward and punishment; it has been largely successful. This policy, however, is creating serious social issues such as gender imbalance (especially at marriageable ages) and orphans. The policy is somewhat controversial in term of birth control methods, in particular, mass sterilizations and forced abortions.
You must be a Rachel Tanur Memorial Prize applicant to submit an essay response.