The New York Times has a repellent recurring habit of whitewashing the evils of Communism while actually praising the murderous ideology by giving it unearned credit for its ideals, which were never achieved and often dubious in themselves, while bashing freedom and capitalism.
The latest came on the front of Wednesday’s New York Times, with Amy Qin reporting from China with “As China Prospers, Women Watch Futures Fade.”
Qin’s report on gender bias in employment in China unleashed fond memories of feminist strides under Maoism:
She focused on Tianjin resident Bella Wang, whose new job “came with a condition. As a married woman without children, she would have to sign a ‘special agreement’ promising not to get pregnant for two years....Such agreements are illegal but increasingly common in China, where discrimination against women is on the rise. From the womb to the workplace, from the political arena to the home, women in China are losing ground at every turn.
But instead of making it easier for women to both work and have children, China’s leader, Xi Jinping, has led a resurgence in traditional gender roles that has increasingly pushed women back into the home.
Nostalgia for the good old days:
In a stark turnaround from the early decades of Communist rule, officials now look the other way when employers, reluctant to cover costs related to maternity leave, openly pick men over women for hiring and promotions. At home, women are increasingly disadvantaged in divorce and losing out on gains in the country’s property boom.
Communist dictator Mao Tse-Tung actually got credit for advancing women’s rights, while the historical record of Mao's genocidal totalitarianism was blandished away (click “expand”):
Mao famously told women they held up “half the sky” and outlawed arranged marriage and the practice of taking concubines. Despite political turmoil and persistent bias, Chinese women entered the work force in record numbers, began to enjoy greater rights and were celebrated for their economic contributions.
Thirty years ago, when the country first began implementing market reforms, Chinese women earned just under 80 percent of what men made. By 2010, according to the latest official data, the average income of women in Chinese cities had fallen to 67 percent that of men, and in the countryside 56 percent.
In a break with the Marxist ambition of liberating women from patriarchal oppression, President Xi has called on women to embrace their “unique role” in the family and “shoulder the responsibilities of taking care of the old and young, as well as educating children.”
The eventual caveat was pathetic:
To be sure, with China’s rapid economic transformation, women are living longer, earning more money and graduating from university in greater numbers than ever before.
But the country’s gains have disproportionately benefited men....
So everyone has benefited from an injection of free markets, but perhaps not everyone at a precisely equal rate....so the benefits must be downplayed and the days of communist-enforced “equality” of misery is upheld as some kind of ideal.
At least Qin noted the “draconian” nature of China’s former “one-child” policy.
