It is undeniable that it was a collective tragedy of the era, however, there are much more under the general human rights’ criticism. Here, the One–Child Policy I am discussing is not the propaganda in either way; it’s not about any judgement. It’s about women’s stories. It’s about life choices and the changing times. As the last generation of the only child , I feel the responsibility to collect the stories, stories that are unknown to most of us, before the memory being blurred and manipulated.

There is an apparent gap between data and personal experiences. Indeed, I think that is also the difference between facts (no matter if it’s authenticity or not) and truth. During the research, there are moments of reflecting, grieving, and overwhelming. However, the understate–ment (I guess), calm, and the interviews with jokes make a sharp contrast with distressing numbers. I still remembered asking my mom how she knew that she needed to have birth proofs for delivery and her feeling at the time.
“I can’t remember all the details…because everyone was doing that.”
“Do you remember who told you the information?” I kept asking.
“No. I couldn’t.”

The way she talked about that made me felt like she was talking about how she made her breakfast. I started to wonder. Maybe things seem cruel to our spectators, but it’s not a big deal for some of those who experienced it. “Nothing’s special.” my mom said.

There are stories about the one–child policy told by different people. Some of them using extreme examples to introduce it. I believe the stories they shared did happened, but they are rare cases. At one time, I was confused by the difference between the policy appeared on the media and the policy I or people around me experienced. There are two possibilities: Stories that already told were manipulated or exaggerated. The other one is my ignorance—I won’t know the darkness if I’m living in the light. So, what is the truth? There are two possibilities: Stories that already told were manipulated or exaggerated. The other one is my ignorance—I won’t know the darkness if I’m living in the light. So, what is the truth?

After watching The Act of Killing I realized that there is no so called “truth”. It’s not the fact, not the reality. Truth is what you believe and it’s “ produced, induced, and extended according to the regime in power” (Trinh, 1990, pp.76). It’s the same as documentary. I used to consider documentary as a mirror of reality, but Trinh states that

The fathers of documentary initially insisted that documentary is not News, but Art (a “new and vital art form,” as Grierson once proclaimed): that its essence is not information (as with “the hundreds of tweeddle–dum ‘industrials’ or worke–reducation films”); not reportage; not newsreels; but something close to “a creative treatment of actuality” (Grierson’s renowned definition).

Hence, the “truth” does not matter any more. In this project, I am sharing the truth that I heard, read, and experienced, which provides another perspective of the policy. I tried not to add any interpretation from the present into the stories. Instead, I depicted what happened, what they did and what they thought.


It is hard to determine which story should be included. What characteristics that makes them special/different from others?

Despite the differences in values from past and present, there are also differences in clinical/hospital executions. There are three characters’ stories I considered.

For instance, in China, medicine abortion can be used when pregnancy is under 7 weeks. While in Canada, the number is 11 which means there’s more time for consideration

The second difference is that under an emergency situation, patients in Canada patients can sign their operation consent. Yet, in the same situation family members or relatives’ signature is still required in China to avoid medical dispute. Different hospital might have different solutions. If they could not contact family members or friends of the patients who are at life risk, the patients can sign their consent if they remain conscious.

Another difference is the the choice of labour position. Recumbent position is mainly used in both countries in the first stage of labour, since the position “provides more convenient access for fetal monitoring, palpating the abdomen and vaginal examinations. In addition, when women are admitted to a hospital birth unit or birthing centre, the bed is often the focus in the room—women are shown to it and they may naturally lie down”(Public Health Agency of Canada). However, in Canada, women were encouraged “to select positions for labour and birth and…to try different positions involves few risks and has potential benefits.”

Among dozens of stories, I selected some typical ones. I reconstructed them into 8 storylines classified into four decades and two locations. They document different challenges Chinese women were facing in different decades. The stories show their decisions and life choices under social and political influences.


Qiao. Apr 26, 2021