about the author
mari manninen, born 1971, is a Finnish journalist. She has lived in Beijing for 4 years from where she reported about the fast-changing China for a few of the most important Finnish newspapers and magazines. Previous works include a Beijing travel guide and a book about Chinese food together with a fellow journalist. Manninen just returned to Finland in the beginning of 2017 and she is now working full time for Helsingin Sanomat, the biggest daily in Scandinavia.
about China's Secret Babies, Little Emperors and Discarded Daughters
THE WINNER OF THE NON FICTION FINLANDIA LITERARY AWARD 2016
Mrs. Wang gave birth to too many children and therefore these children could not get jobs, get married or even buy a train ticket.
Mr. Zhou bought a bride from Vietnam to his son because there are no young women in the village.
Mrs. Zhang's 7-month old foetus was violently aborted by coercion. Mrs. Li is looking for her daughter whom she abandoned 32 years ago.
Mrs. Dong's work was to watch over her neighbours’ menstruation cycles and report these to the authorities.
These are some of the ordinary Chinese families that Mari Manninen interviewed in search for the stories on the real-life impact of the one-child policy. It turned out that the 35-year demographic trial caused massive suffering and left its mark in every Chinese in one way or another.
In the book we meet all different kind of families and learn about the wide variety of their fates. The book shows a slice of the Chinese everyday life after a heavy period of time: How can the only children cope with the distortion of the population pyramid? How can one continue to live when the only-child dies? And who has benefited from the one-child policy - were there also those who benefitted?
Original Title | Yhden lapsen kansa
Publishing Year | 2016
Pages | 205
Available material |
Eng sample translation
Chapter Summary
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