The Economist - 04.12.2021

60 China The Economist December 4th 2021

years  in  a  row.  Cohabitation  and  concep­

tion  out  of  wedlock  are  becoming  more

common as sexual mores change. Even so,

extramarital births remain widely stigma­

tised.  Research  published  last  year  by  Li

Wenzhen of Renmin University found that

60% of women who get pregnant while in a

non­marital  relationship  go  on  to  marry

their  partner  and  give  birth  to  the  child.

Abortions are also common.

Ms Zhang worries that her son may also

be  shunned  by  society.  A  state  kindergar­

ten  refused  to  admit  him  because  she

would not give details of his father, whom

she had divorced after he abused her. (Her

son was conceived during a brief reunion.)

She refused on principle, regarding the in­

formation  as  irrelevant  since  the  father

had no right of custody. Ms Zhang sent the

boy to a private school instead. 

Women are beginning to fight back. In

2017  Zou  Xiaoqi  (pictured  on  previous

page), who is also from Shanghai, became

the  first  single  mother  to  sue  the  govern­

ment for maternity benefits. She lost every

case over the course of four years. 

But  her  battle  was  closely  watched.

Some  single  mothers  have  been  embold­

ened by it to take their employers to court.

In parts of the country, firms are responsi­

ble for paying employees during maternity

leave (a minimum of 98 days on full salary)

but  can  claim  the  money  back  from  the

state. Fearing that the government may not

reimburse them, some employers refuse to

give  such  pay  when  the  woman  is  single.

Some  unmarried  women,  once  pregnant,

are  even  fired.  Female  job  applicants  are

still often asked about child­rearing plans,

despite a ban on this. Ms Zou and Ms Zhang

are  part  of  a  support  group  on  WeChat,  a

messaging  app,  of  over  100  unmarried

mothers seeking better treatment.

Earlier  this  year,  many  in  the  group

cheered  when  Shanghai  appeared  to  re­

move  a  bureaucratic  hurdle  to  obtaining

maternity  benefits.  Rather  than  requiring

proof of marriage, an app allowed mothers

to  check  a  box  agreeing  to  take  legal  re­

sponsibility if they were found to be break­

ing  family­planning  policies.  Ms  Zou  was

one of at least eight unmarried mothers in

the  city  who  did  so  and  duly  received  the

amount  that  married  women  would  get.

But  within  a  few  months,  other  mothers’

applications  were  being  refused  again—

Ms Zhang’s among them. Officials gave no

explanation for the about­turn.

Only  in  the  southern  province  of

Guangdong  do  single  mothers  routinely

receive benefits. This stems from an over­

haul  of  its  family­planning  rules  in  2016.

Progress  elsewhere  is  piecemeal.  China

bans single women from undergoing pro­

cedures such as egg­freezing or in vitrofer­

tilisation to help with reproduction. In Au­

gust officials in the central province of Hu­

nan said they would consider allowing sin­

glewomentofreezetheireggs.Butthey

insistedthata marriagelicencewouldstill

beneededtoretrievethem.

Theshifttoa three­childpolicyhasgiv­

en hope to single mothers that social

maintenancefeesmaybeabolished.The

centralgovernmentsaysthisisbeingcon­

sidered.Thechargesarecurrentlyimposed

mainlyonfamilieswithfourchildrenor

more, a rare sort. On November 25th

Shanghaipublisheditsownrulesforim­

plementingthethree­childpolicy.Theyin­

cludedincentivestohavechildrenandap­

pearedtoscrapthefeesaltogether.

TheCommunistPartywantstoboost

births,whilepreservingtraditionalvalues.

ChenYaya oftheShanghaiAcademyofSo­

cialSciencesspeculatesthatextramarital

birthscouldbecomea bountifulsourceof

babies,if theywerelessstigmatised.Inthe

oecd, a clubmainlyofrichcountries,the

proportionofbirthsoutofwedlockrose

from6%in 1960 to40%in2016,notesMs

Chen. Thereare exceptions: only2% of

birthsin sociallyconservativeJapan are

non­marital.ItisnotclearwhatChinese

womenwouldchoose,ifofficialswereto

givethemthefreedomtodoso.n

Sportandhumanrights

Ballsy

I

ntheworldofsport,itwasa remark­

able rebuke of China’s ruling Communist

Party.  On  December  1st  the  Florida­based

Women’s  Tennis  Association  (wta)  said  it

would stop holding tournaments in main­

land China and Hong Kong in response to

the silencing of Peng Shuai, a Chinese ten­

nis  star,  after  she  had  publicly  accused  a

former senior Chinese leader of sexual as­

sault.  Steve  Simon,  the  wta’s  boss,  used

language  typical  of  human­rights  groups,

not  of  firms  with  profits  at  stake.  He  ac­

cused China’s leadership of failing to han­

dle  the  matter  credibly:  “I  have  serious

doubts that she is free, safe and not subject

to censorship, coercion and intimidation.” 

For  years  most  executives  of  global

sporting  leagues,  as  well  as  athletes  with

high  profiles  in  China,  have  strained  to

avoid offending Chinese officials lest they

lose  access  to  a  lucrative  market.  But  as

China’s human­rights abuses have become

more  egregious,  the  reputational  risk  of

keeping quiet has grown. In November the

International  Olympic  Committee  held  a

video  call  with  Ms  Peng  and  gave  a  sunny

assessment of her well­being. It was wide­

ly  viewed  as  a  craven  effort  to  help  China

stifle  controversy  in  the  buildup  to  the

Winter  Olympics  in  Beijing  in  February.

America’s National Basketball Association

(nba)  has  tried  to  keep  on  China’s  good

side since a team executive’s tweet in 2019,

expressing  support  for  protests  in  Hong

Kong, prompted a temporary ban in China

on nbabroadcasts. Adam Silver, the nba’s

chief, said the episode cost the league hun­

dreds of millions of dollars.

The wtahad already burned its bridges

in  China  in  November,  when  Mr  Simon

publicly  urged  Chinese  leaders  to  investi­

gate Ms Peng’s allegations. They had been

published  on  her  social­media  account

and  quickly  censored.  The  alleged  abuser,

Zhang Gaoli, retired as deputy prime min­

ister  in  2018  and  has  not  commented.  Mr

Simon  also  demanded  proof  of  Ms  Peng’s

safety. Famous champions like Serena Wil­

liams and Naomi Osaka tweeted their con­

cern,  using  the  hashtag  #whereispeng­

shuai.  Contrived­looking  videos  of  Ms

Peng appearing relaxed in Beijing were re­

leased  online  by  state  media.  They  also

published a purported email in which she

distanced herself from the allegations. 

By  pulling  out  of  China,  the  wtafaces

losses of tens of millions of dollars annual­

ly,  including  sponsorships  for  its  tourna­

ments (nine had been scheduled in China

for  2022)  and  fees  for  online  streaming

rights. Athletes who have backed Ms Peng

have also taken a risk, including that of be­

ing  shut  out  of  China  and  thus  being  de­

nied  the  opportunity  of  winning  prize­

money and endorsements there. 

There  has  been  less  sporting  criticism

of other human­rights problems in China,

including  the  mass  internment  of  Uygh­

urs, a mostly Muslim ethnic group. On No­

vember 30th a minor nbaplayer, Enes Kan­

ter  Freedom  of  the  Boston  Celtics,  called

for  big­star  support  for  persecuted  Uygh­

urs.  “There  are  way  bigger  things  than

money,”  Mr  Freedom  said.  “It’s  definitely

time for athletes to standupfor the things

they  believe  in.”  Buttennis’s act  will  be

hard for others to follow.n

Women’s tennis takes a stand against

China. Will other sports dare follow?

Peng Shuai, star and cause célèbre