An article titled Popularizing the Knowledge of Eugenics and Advocating Optimal Births Vigorously" by Sun Dong-sheng of the Jinan Army Institute, People's Republic of China. "An English translation of the article can be found on the web. The translators note, in their preface, that: "The taboo on this subject is not as strong in East Asia as in the West. One might hypothesize that Asians, and more particularly the populations of the Han cultural zone (Japan, North and South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and possibly Vietnam), take a more pragmatic, less structured and ideological, and more far-seeing approach (eugenics, after all, is, by definition, a long-run program) to the development of human capital, than do Westerners."
Sun Dong-sheng takes a quick canter through of the history of eugenics, not omitting the disgrace which the whole subject fell into by association with Nazi "racial science." As the translators note, though, Dr. Sun shows no sign of feeling that he is dealing with a "hot" or taboo topic. He just goes right on into proposals for raising public awareness of eugenics (in China, that is — the whole piece is intended for a Chinese audience) and reasons for including eugenic policies as a part of "socialist modernization."
The progress of the argument is held up for a while by some
ideological shucking and jiving the author feels obliged to perform.
>From the point of view of theoretical Marxist-Leninism and dialectical
materialism, still a compulsory part of the curriculum in Chinese
schools, the entire field of genetics is a bit suspect. In all
nature-nurture debates, traditional Marxistsare the purest of pure
nurturists. What's the point of having a revolution if you can't
change human nature? Dr. Sun easily negotiates his way through this
concluding that:
With genetics as its basis, the field of eugenics is established
on an objective, materialistic foundation.
And:
As eugenic research becomes widespread and acquires depth, the
legal code of China will include more regulations concerning the
ways by which the idea of healthier offspring can be given reality.
And:
Socialist modernization urgently needs a reduction or elimination
of genetic diseases and hereditary defects. Only by promoting the
births of better offspring can we improve the genetic quality of
our population
They do not see this as a violation of human rights. There is no such thing as disablity rights so people can do nothing collectively to stop these activities. It is NOT a place I would ever want to live. There are those who still defend China but I am not one of them.
Marta
Nathan Newman wrote:
>
> If this article's info on China's eugenics is accurate, China is moving from
> merely authoritarian capitalistism towards full-out fascism. Folks can
> dismiss this as enemy propaganda - which it may be - but given well
> documented reports of union leaders being sent to mental hospitals, the
> crushing of heterodox religionists, and the authoritian promotion of
> capitalists allied to the party hierarchy, it starts to look like any word
> other than "fascism" would be hard to apply to China
> -- Nathan Newman
>
> Only the 'medically fit' can go to college, China decrees
> Source: The Sunday Telegraph (U.K.)
> Published: 06/24/2001 Author: Damien McElroy
>
> STUDENTS wanting to attend university in China next term will have to pass
> stringent new examinations first: not to test their ability for the courses
> that they want to sit but to judge their medical suitability and physical
> fitness.
>
> Teenagers whose legs differ in length by more than two inches or whose spine
> is curved by 1.5 inches will be disbarred from courses as varied as geology,
> law and civil engineering. Anyone with colour blindness will be banned from
> sitting business administration courses, while those unfortunates diagnosed
> with cancer, epilepsy, high blood pressure or "mental disorder" will be
> prevented from enrolling altogether.
>
snip