[quote=“Lord Lucan”]I see from the front page of today’s China Post that the imported prostitute problem is still being blamed on the girls. This of course will continue to be the case for the foreseeable future. I quote: “…as many mainland women use the marriages as a coverup for prostitution on the island.” chinapost.com.tw/detail.asp?ID=42865&GRP=A
I think, however, the predictable and monotonous laying of blame at the feet of the girls involved is mostly the work of the English language press, which doesn’t seem to have any real journalists covering this issue.[/quote]
It could be a product of confusion with the original Chinese, whose grammar can be flexible enough so that the reader is uncertain of the agent of the sentence. Verbs in Chinese can be passive without the explicit addition of passive particles. I don’t know what linguists call it, but I call it the “implicit passive”.
One cold winter evening at college many years ago, one of our instructors stated that Taiwanese men and Taiwanese businesses were not internationally competitive. His words generated a surge of hurt complaints from our male classmates, of course, but the professors used a very clever image of foreign wives and South East Asia investments, and how this showed that they could not compete with other economic powers in other than cost issues because they were not flexible enough/updated/modern/creative, etc…
His words were meant as a warning, not as an insult, this was a business related class, not sociology. He meant to say that if you want to be competitive, you have to do more than strive to catch up, and set trends. Going for the easy catch -as we say in Spanish, grabbing the low-lying mangoes- and abusing people is for the 18th century approach in the 21st does not work anymore. With Vietnam and other parts of South East Asia rapidly catching up at an economic level, are these Taiwanese men ready for the change?
In ten years it may be Taiwanese brides going to Vietnam…no joke, their economy is primed for success, and they still have a beautiful and accessible country
[quote=“Jack Burton”]That’s funny. Taiwanese let themselves be culturally enriched by “mere Southeast Asians”?
You must really not understand Chinese mentality. lol.[/quote]
I’ve been here long enough to understand the mentality. The statement about being culturally enriched was my opinion (as I value diversity) and not a comment about local opinions.
[quote=“Dragonbones”][quote=“Jack Burton”]That’s funny. Taiwanese let themselves be culturally enriched by “mere Southeast Asians”?
You must really not understand Chinese mentality. lol.[/quote]
I’ve been here long enough to understand the mentality. The statement about being culturally enriched was my opinion (as I value diversity) and not a comment about local opinions.[/quote]
Hey. I was actually just making a joke. I figured from your posts you understand well enough.
Believe you me, we’re on the same page here about diversity and the obstacles in Taiwan and most of Chinese civilization to diversity.
[quote=“X3M”]I don’t know, but isn’t the gender balance more off in China than in Taiwan?
-If so, the importing of Chinese women will worsen the situation for the poor Chinese men. Where are they going to get their wives from?[/quote]
Normal sex ratio at birth seems to be 1.05 boys per girl.
So basically in Taiwan, with a birth rate of 1.1 boys to every girl, for every 210 babies born, 5 girls are not born or boys have been selectively born through IVF and such procedures.
For China:
Sex ratio
* At birth: 1.12 male(s)/female (2006)
* Under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female (2006)
* 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female (2006)
* 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female (2006)
* Total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2006)
Infant mortality rate
* Total: 22.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2006)
* Male: 20.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2006)
* Female: 25.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2006)
For Taiwan:
Sex ratio
at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.09 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.99 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total: 6.29 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.97 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 5.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
US:
Sex ratios: (2007 est.)
* at birth: 1.05 males/female
* under 15 years: 1.05 males/female
* 15–64 years: 1 male/female
* 65 years and over: 0.72 male/female
* total population: 0.97 male/female
* state-by-state breakdown: United States sex ratio chart
Infant mortality rate: (2007 est.)
* total population: 6.40 deaths/1,000 live births
* male: 7.00 deaths/1,000 live births
* female: 5.70 deaths/1,000 live births
Can we clarify the phrase “not born”? I’m not clear that IVF lets you select gender. I’d actually say that they use ultrasound and then abort female fetuses. This can be done in many ways and in fact many herbs act as abortifacients. Cotton root bark for example was used by slaves in the USA. Don’t try this at home. Would be interesting at this juncture to review local stats on suicide, teenage pregnancy, and abortion.
IIRC the gender is determined by the sperm cell. But they can’t yet select a male sperm without destroying it in the process.
I am sorry to say that I think the statistics provided by lupillus may be in error.
According to what I was told several years ago in Taiwan, in a Public Hearing in the Legislative Yuan, “records of births” are not compiled by local hospitals … they are compiled by the Household Registration Bureaus when the children are “registered.”
Hence, still-born babies or other babies who die in the hospital very early on are not reported.
This is what I heard, and I provide it for reference.
(By contrast, birth statistics for the USA are compiled by the hospitals, according to my knowledge.)
[quote=“Toe Tag”][quote=“lupillus”]
So basically in Taiwan, with a birth rate of 1.1 boys to every girl, for every 210 babies born, 5 girls are not born or boys have been selectively born through IVF and such procedures.
[/quote]
Can we clarify the phrase “not born”? I’m not clear that IVF lets you select gender. I’d actually say that they use ultrasound and then abort female fetuses. This can be done in many ways and in fact many herbs act as abortifacients. Cotton root bark for example was used by slaves in the USA. Don’t try this at home. Would be interesting at this juncture to review local stats on suicide, teenage pregnancy, and abortion.
IIRC the gender is determined by the sperm cell. But they can’t yet select a male sperm without destroying it in the process.
You got any statistics for India or Japan?[/quote]
I don’t know, fertility clinics claim they can separate the sperm with something like 70-80% accuracy. I’ll poke around on the net some more and see if these are just magical claims.
As for the accuracy of infant mortality, I don’t know. But I don’t think it affects the overall sex ratio in Taiwan.
Since, as far as I know, it is not common now to smother baby girls or cause their deliberate death once they’re born. I’d say the sex selection occurs mainly before birth.
How do you mean? You met your wife in the States and she wanted to get married and then reside in Taiwan? Or you moved to Taiwan to find a wife?
Not judging you here (I see nothing wrong with either situation), just curious.[/quote]GBH -
No problem…fair Q.
I knew my wife prior to moving here. I had done business with the company she works for for several years and we met thru business meetings. It was a rather long ‘courtship’ as it were. We knew each other for 4 years or so prior to deciding upon marriage. She did visit the States on business and we did meet there. Also, I had traveled to here on business a number of times and met here.
[quote=“Hartzell”]I am sorry to say that I think the statistics provided by lupillus may be in error.
According to what I was told several years ago in Taiwan, in a Public Hearing in the Legislative Yuan, “records of births” are not compiled by local hospitals … they are compiled by the Household Registration Bureaus when the children are “registered.”
Hence, still-born babies or other babies who die in the hospital very early on are not reported.
This is what I heard, and I provide it for reference.
(By contrast, birth statistics for the USA are compiled by the hospitals, according to my knowledge.)[/quote]
Interesting point. We’d need to see Lupillus reference, and read how they gather their stats. Though likely, they’d be hard pressed to gather stats beyond the practices of the local administrative apparatus.
We’d then need to look at which of the several stats are affected by the difference in methodology. I would guess though that in Taiwan there is not a huge quantity of stillborn etc. babies. And more importantly, that they would be at about the same ratio. Thus the ratio stat stands.
