Beijing, July 13 (IANS) Many people in China are concerned over people's preference for baby boys than girls and inclination for gender tests and abortions.
In one such display of growing public concern, about 10,000 people in China's Zhejiang province participated in a mass rally to protest gender tests and baby boy-favoured abortions, Xinhua reported.
The participants, including officials, local residents and villagers, signed their names Thursday on a huge banner with the words "Safeguard women's life rights" and "Voluntarily say no to gender identification and unnecessary abortion".
Having a baby boy has long been preferred by Chinese couples following a belief that males can continue the family bloodline and be a better financial support for the family than females.
China's family planning policies, introduced in the 1970s to curb population growth, worsened the situation as most urban couples can only have one child. Wishing to have a son, they rely on gender identification tests and abortions.
Zhejiang's birth gender ratio in 2010 was 118.13 boys for every 100 girls. At some places, the ratio was 130 to 100, according to official statistics.
"In Zhejiang, 30,000 more boys are born than girls every year, which is a very dangerous signal for society. In 2020, 24 million Chinese men will have difficulties in finding their wives," said Wenjuan, director of the provincial population and family planning commission.
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