Mother's Ordeal: One Woman's Fight Against China's One-Child Policy (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This is the story of the ordeal of Chi An, a Chinese mother, and her fight to escape being a victim of China's family-planning policies of the 1980s. These allowed no more than one child per couple under threat of public criticism, heavy fines or job demotion. Mosher ( Journey to the Forbidden China ) dramatically portrays the hardships imposed by the Cultural Revolution, particularly by government population control. This included mandatory use of IUDs; the presence of community spies; raids during which pregnant women were dragged to clinics for forced abortions (often in the third trimester of pregnancy); and the sterilization of both men and women--procedures at which, as a nurse, Chi An was obliged to assist. Having conceived a second child while traveling in the U.S., Chi An and her husband would have been deported without the author's successful appeal, which helped establish China's one-child policy as ground for political asylum. Major ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

The compelling story of a young Chinese mother, giving a human face to the recent, chilling news accounts of how China has dramatically--and forcibly--decreased its birth rate. Mosher (China Misperceived, 1990, etc.) tells the story of Chi An in the first person, giving his dramatic narrative an even greater edge. Chi An recalls her childhood in the early 50's, when China was still encouraging large families. The second of four children, she grew up in a relative comfort that disappeared when her father drowned and the family had to rely on her mother's earnings. Things were grim as her mother battled depression and as the disastrous effects of Mao's agricultural policies began to be felt even in the cities. A student nurse during the Cultural Revolution, Chi An admits to participating in that horror, but the main focus here is her experience with China's ruthless system of birth control. Trained as an abortionist, she initially accepted governmental limits on pregnancies. She married an engineer, and when a local committee informed her that she was included in the quota of women entitled to become pregnant, she did so and gave birth to a son. But as Chi An continued working in a factory clinic, she was troubled by what she observed: abortion at full- term; infanticide; forced sterilization; imprisonment for those who rejected government regulations. Dismayed, she joined her husband, who was studying in the US, and she became pregnant again--even though, in China, she'd signed an agreement to have only one child. When Chinese authorities refused to let her return unless she had an abortion, Chi An sought American help. After many difficulties- -deportation procedures were in progress--she and her family were granted political asylum. A searing and candid look at a place where the state brutally intrudes into the most intimate parts of a woman's life. (First serial rights to Ladies' Home Journal) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 335 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P; 1st edition (July 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151626626
• ISBN-13: 978-0151626625
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #626,245 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)