Beijing's totalitarians adjust cultural policies.

In a totalitarian society, the state claims the power to manipulate all institutions, including the family and institutions of religious worship. Despite China's much-discussed movement toward "market socialism," Beijing continues to use the coercive power of the state to regiment the most intimate areas of life.

The Communist government's one-child policy, which includes compelled abortion and involuntary sterilization, has resulted in a serious demographic imbalance. "Government figures show 117 boys are born in China for every 100 girls," noted a February 27 AP report. "In some rural areas, the ratio is approaching 150 boys for every 100 girls, leading to fears of a huge surplus of men who will be unable to find mates in coming decades."

Because rural Chinese culture places a high value on sons, Chinese parents, forbidden to have more than one child, will often abort unborn female children. The Beijing regime, treating infant human beings as a state-regulated commodity, has reacted to the resulting population imbalances by considering new measures that would "make it a crime to detect an unborn baby's sex for non-medical reasons."

The government is also "experimenting with increased cash rewards to single child families," reported UPI on February 28. A pilot program launched last April in 15 Chinese cities gives "cash rewards to rural couples who were willing to have only one boy or two daughters. According to the new policy, each of the couples could get at least 600 yuan or $72 every year when they are over 60 years old." Beijing's state-established incentive structure is designed to encourage an increased number of female children.