Gender Dynamics and the Role of Women in Modern China: A Critical Examination of Xi's Guidance

Hi, thank you for watching Digging to China. I am Dong Xiong. If you have not done so already, please subscribe to my channel. Thank you very much. On Oct. 30, Xi Jinping paid a visit to the Women's Federation. This visit was in connection with the leadership transition within the Women's Federation and their ongoing conference. The Chinese Communist Party has always shown a keen interest in women's issues, acknowledging their importance. Therefore, Xi Jinping addressed the audience during his visit. His remarks, for the most part, lacked substantial content and they were the kind of statements that could be made in various settings. However, there was a short segment in his speech that contained a bit more substance. Here it goes. The task involves sharing inspiring family stories and guiding women to play a unique role in promoting traditional Chinese virtues, fostering positive family values, and cultivating a new culture centered around marriage and child-rearing. This includes providing direction on young people's views on marriage, reproduction, and family, improving and implementing pre-procreation support policies, enhancing population development quality, and proactively addressing the challenges of an aging population. Xi Jinping stressed the importance of these initiatives in the context of China's unique modernization path, focusing on safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of women and children, advancing gender equality, and ensuring the comprehensive development of women and children. The CCP has consistently boasted about its achievements in protecting women's rights, often asserting its superiority over other East Asian countries in this regard. This perspective is drawn from comparisons with the rights and social status of women in East Asian nations like Japan and South Korea, which have faced criticism in these areas. However, by making a point of highlighting the presence of women in its political leadership, the party seems to concede that the actual status of women may not be as exceptional as claimed. The need to explicitly note the inclusion of women in official roles suggests that their true status may not be as impressive as advertised. If gender is inconsequential to the roles, there is no need for such emphasis, calling into question the validity of their claims. Moreover, the position of women in China is essentially similar to that of the general population. They are considered as tools, whether you refer to them as resources or assets. From this standpoint, gender equality in China is effectively carried out. There is a uniform harvesting process, and once the harvesting is done, it doesn't matter if you are male or female, you all end up in the same warehouse. That's the situation in a nutshell. In the early days of the Chinese CCP's rule, particularly during the 1949 founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China, Mao Zedong famously proclaimed that the Chinese people have now stood up. However, the reality that unfolded soon after painted a different picture, with many Chinese citizens finding themselves in a disadvantaged position. Notably, in the early stages of the CCP's governance, around 1950, they introduced the Marriage Law. This marked China's inaugural legal codification. But it wasn't primarily driven by the CCP's special concern for women's rights. Before the CCP's ascent to power, there existed an internal guideline known as the 27-8 Regiment. This rule stipulated that individuals above the age of 27, with more than 8 years of party membership and holding ranks exceeding those of the regimental commander, had the opportunity to request a change of spouse. Upon expressing their desire to the party leadership, the party committee could directly instruct these women to marry specific individuals, with no room for negotiations. This practice was considered part of their revolutionary duties. Following the CCP's victory in 1950, this procedure of spouse switching was legalized and formalized under the Marriage Law. If you examine the early generations of proletarian revolutionaries within the Chinese Communist Party, you will find that very few of them remained in their first marriages. In my view, the CCP can be seen as a combination of peasant uprising and gangster. Consider that peasant uprisings have historically revolved around the motives of seizing wealth and women, regardless of their ultimate success. In most cases throughout history, the objective was to acquire both money and women. With the advent of the Marriage Law in 1950, it marked a significant shift towards gender equality in China, allowing men and women to legally dissolve marriages. This law, at its inception, primarily served as a gateway for Communist Party cages to change spouses. Its impact on the general populace was relatively limited. As China's economic reform progressed and living standards improved, people experienced more complex emotional lives, higher life expectations, and subsequently divorce rates increased. The fact that the Chinese Communist Party introduced marriage law prior to the Constitution suggests that pragmatism prevailed, with a focus on addressing the immediate concerns between men and women, rather than solely concentrating on long-term state-building and other grand strategies. Later, it became evident that both men and women in China were viewed by the Chinese Communist Party as valuable resources, akin to organic minerals. This perspective somewhat equalized the roles of men and women, giving rise to the emergence of what were termed the Iron Woman. The Chinese Communist Party promoted the slogan, women can show the half the sky. What does this half of the sky represent? It could be portrayed as contributing to the development of the nation, or less favorably as organic minerals. During the first 30 years following the establishment of the People's Republic of China, the distinction between men and women was rather subtle. Women had a physical appearance similar to men, sturdy and robust. The propaganda posters of that era depict women wielding rifles. In retrospect, it appears odd and aesthetically unpleasing. Therefore, during those initial 30 years, women's role in shouldering half the sky primarily pertained to their contributions to industrial production. Both men and women engaged in labor intensive activities, and women were assigned tasks that had typically seemed reserved for men, reflecting the prevalent approach of the time. Women's status progressively improved, not so much due to an increase in their awareness of rights, but rather as a result of their contribution to industrial production as sustainable sources of organic minerals, which significantly elevated their societal standing, achieving a relatively equal position between men and women. Subsequently, the Chinese Communist Party began to underscore the role of women within the family. While women were still encouraged to participate in politics and the workforce, they were also expected to shoulder household responsibilities. China's economic circumstances have always set it apart from Western and developed nations like Japan, where the economy often allows for single breadwinner households. In Western countries, it's common for both spouses to work, with a traditional setup where the husband is the primary earner and the wife manages the home. In Japan, this pattern is more widespread, where typically only one person works, and after marriage, women frequently transition into full-time homemakers. This becomes even more pronounced after having children, as women predominantly take on child care and domestic duties. While Japan has seen a growing number of women pursuing their careers, traditional lifestyles still dominate, particularly when raising a family. China's economy hasn't reached a point where a significant number of households can support having full-time homemakers. Although there are some Chinese families that can afford to have someone stay at home full-time, the overall percentage of such households remains relatively low when considering the entire population of China. This situation is largely a result of the current economic conditions. Following the reforms and opening up policy, women were now required to juggle between employment, the burden of childbirth, and the symbolic responsibility of promoting gender equality. This arrangement is quite a nonsensical as men and women naturally have physiological and physical differences. Women experience pregnancy, childbirth, and the need for extended periods of child care. Exaggerating gender equality in this context ultimately results in a form of greater inequality. In the present day, Chinese women, considered as a vital part of the nation's organic resource, have been ascribed additional roles. Originally, the Communist Party advocated for family planning, urging fewer births, and sometimes enforcing sterilization. However, the current emphasis has shifted towards promoting childbirth and encouraging women to return to traditional family roles. Much of today's propaganda centers on encouraging women to embrace their natural femininity and align with societal structures, diverging from notions of gender equality and women's empowerment. Throughout, the Communist Party consistently treats women as instruments, and if they excel, they may be viewed as valuable resources or individuals easily exploited within the broader power structure. When the Communist Party requires you to service, you are expected to either be an unyielding woman or transform into a reproductive machine. This reflects the Communist Party's viewpoint on women. Their proclaimed enhancement of women's status in China is primarily utilitarian and doesn't genuinely regard women as equal or individuals on par with men. China has a household registration system, and when you examine your household registration book, you will observe that each book contains a section called Head of the Household, which designates the leader of the family. The head of the household is typically a male. Are there instances of female heads of the household? Yes, it must be acknowledged that such cases exist. But in a majority of households, the senior adult male assumes the role of the head. This is an important criterion. And as long as the senior adult male is alive, a female will not become the head of the household. The CCP has established a system where everyone is connected through a dependency relationship. Each family has a head of the household, and everyone else is dependent on the head. This is why it can be said that in China, the issue of domestic violence against women and children has never truly escalated to a level of genuine crackdown or formal intervention by state authorities. At the most, it involves mediation because the entire structure is built upon the dependence of all family members on the adult male head of the household. Domestic violence according to Chinese norms is considered a family matter, and others should not interfere in domestic affairs. Acts like beating one's spouse or children are generally treated as internal matters, and state authorities do not usually intervene unless the situation becomes severe. In his guidance on the work of the Women's Federation, Xi Jinping stressed the importance of maintaining the correct political orientation and working closely with the party. He emphasized the need to uphold the party's overall leadership, protect the authority of the party's central committee, and maintain strong alignment with the party's central directives. Xi highlighted the importance of political clarity and unwavering commitment to the political role of women's undertaking and the Women's Federation. He called for enhanced ideological and political guidance for women, promoting the use of socialist ideology with Chinese characteristics in the new era to strengthen their convictions and values, and encouraging women to steadfastly follow the party's guidance. In this paragraph, which consists of a total 155 Chinese characters, the term Chinese Communist Party mentioned six times. In summary, the Women's Federation is expected to align with the party, follow the party's directives, and do whatever the party instructs. Currently, the party requires women to give birth, and this is what the Chinese Communist Party considers as women's rights. Thank you for watching. Please leave a comment and subscribe to my channel. Just click the subscribe button right here. I'll see you again shortly. Until then, be well.