Six-Four
Today, June 4th in China, marks the 20th anniversary of the government crackdown at Beijing's Tiananmen Square. I have little to say about the subject, one that remains taboo in China, that isn't more eloquently expressed in this piece by the great Chinese writer Ma Jian. Enjoy.
The Abortion Conundrum
"I want to have an abortion, but my boyfriend and I are having trouble conceiving"- Sarah Silverman
Last week, one of the few American doctors who performed late-term (third-trimester) abortions was slain as he attended church services in Wichita, Kansas. Dr. George Tiller, who had previously survived a gun attack and had lived through bombings, harassment, and an assortment of other problems, was a villainous figure among the American anti-choice community. While his death was immediately condemned by national anti-choice organizations, many individuals no doubt felt that a measure of justice was achieved.
Thinking of abortion and its attendant controversy in the United States brings me back to a conversation I had with a Chinese friend about the subject. Abortion, in her country, isn't terribly controversial. If anything, it's a service nearly as routine as visiting the dentist. Billboards advertise 'Korean-style' abortions at discount rates, young women speak openly about having had the procedure, and the vast majority of women would prefer an abortion to facing the fines and opprobrium cased by having a second child.
My friend had been curious about what differentiated the two major political parties in the US. I listed several factors, each of which she understood. Then, when I mentioned abortion, she stopped me. She found it strange, to say the least, that people would be opposed to the procedure in the first place. When I pointed that not only are some people opposed to having the procedure done themselves, they're opposed to allowing anyone else to have the procedure, my friend reacted with complete disbelief.
There are a lot of reasons why Chinese and American societies have different relationships with the abortion issue. The two societies have different relationships about a lot of things, both trivial and significant.
Still, it's worth pointing out that for a country that is now making headlines for enforcing rigid Internet censorship simultaneously has a laissez-faire attitude toward abortion, a controversy that can prove fatal in the US.