我的大学同学：被中国独子政策所害

 

中国人口老龄化带来的社会和经济压力迫使中国政府将其臭名远扬的独子政策改为二胎政策。这一已经实施35年的独子政策避免了400万婴儿的出生，令数亿中国人受害。

China’s growing greying population has created social and economic pressure that forced Chinese government to replace its infamous one-child policy with two-children one.  After 35 years in action, the policy which has wreaked havoc on billions of people's basic freedom and averted 4 million births has come to an end.  

中国废除独子政策在社交媒体上引发热议。对于那些几十年来恪守独子政策，而如今已过了生育年龄的中国人来说，二胎政策显然来得太迟。我的许多大学同学们也纷纷通过社交媒体表达其不满，顿时，各种挖苦嘲讽和黑色幽默的帖子将我的微信收件箱淹没。

Ending the one-child policy has sparked heated reactions across social media platforms. For those who now pass childbearing age after having followed the policy for decades, the policy change comes just too late. Many of my university friends flocked to social media to express their frustrations, as posts ranging from sarcasm to dark humor flooded my inbox on WeChat.  

有一个帖子称：“昨晚和老婆商量再要一个孩子，她一口回绝，我还差点被她踢下床！靠！”

 “When I discussed with my wife last night about having a second one, she refuses to get pregnant again… She almost kicked me off the bed. Rats!” one posted.

另一个帖子称：“我老婆说你爱和谁生就和谁生！国家政策和家庭政策同时放宽让我‘压力山大’!”

“My wife allows me to have one more child with anyone! This relaxed policy by both the government and the family has put me ‘under a lot of pressure’! “ 

还有一些帖子令大家动容并忍俊不禁：

Some posts have elicited strong emotional response and a lot of laughter:

“如果她继续拒绝我的提议，我就换一个老婆！”

“If she keeps rejecting my suggestions, I will try to marry a second wife!”

但是我相信，在这些看似云淡风轻的玩笑背后所夹杂的是种种心酸、怨恨与遗憾的复杂情绪。

But I believe that behind these seemingly indifferent jokes are the mixed feelings of bitterness, resentment and regrets.

 

自从我在几个月前和大学同学取得联系后，家庭和孩子就常常成了我们的聊天话题。虽然我的许多同学在中国都是事业有成财力丰厚，但他们却告诉我此生唯一的遗憾就是没能生第二个孩子。有些人甚至十分羡慕我们班上少数几个生活在海外并育有多个子女的同学。

Since I reconnected with college friends a few months ago, our discussions largely focused on family and children. Established both in wealth and career, many of them in China told me that the only regret in their life is not having a second child. Some are even quite jealous that few of us who -- live overseas -- have more than one child. 

一个同学说：“哇塞！你有两个孩子？！我做梦都想再要一个孩子！”

 “Wow!  You have two children?! I was desperate to have one more!”  One friend said.

另一个同学称：“妈的！我的第二个孩子被独子政策扼杀了，真他妈的残酷！”

“Damn! My second baby was killed by this one-child policy. It is sooo brutal!” said the other.

虽然独子政策导致许多像我的大学同学一样的同胞们无法拥有梦寐以求的第二个孩子，但是和许多耸人听闻的悲惨经历相比，只是小巫见大巫了。

While the experiences of many people – including my college friends -- are frustrating, they pale in comparison with many disturbing stories that have shocked the global community. 

我从前的一个同事在她近30岁时曾意外怀上第二胎，结果这名年轻的女职员被强制堕胎，并在公开场合遭到公开批评  （小组批评），由于整个小组都因为她“违反”政策而被扣除年终奖，她不得不在小组会议上再三道歉。

One of my former colleagues in China – in her late 20s had an unexpected pregnancy after having her first child.  As a result, this young female employee had a forced abortion, endured public embarrassment (group criticism) and made repeated apologies in the group meetings as the annual bonus for the entire group was forfeited resulting from her “violation” of the policy.

至今我仍记得她流泪的双眼，涨红的面孔和结结巴巴的道歉。

I still remember her tearing eyes, flushed face and stuttered apologies.  

在过去几十年里，中国严格执行独子政策导致无数怀孕女性被强制堕胎，数百万女孩因为父母重男轻女而被遗弃，还有成千上万的“非法出生”的孩子被剥夺了公民的基本人权。

Over the past decades, the vigorous policy enforcement has led to countless fetuses forcibly extracted, millions of girls discarded in favour of boys, and thousands of “illegal” children deprived of the basic human rights as a citizen. 

 

实施数十年之久的独子政策已经引发一系列社会和经济问题，并逐步导致了全国性危机。人口老龄化加速不仅导致中国医疗成本增加，劳动力减少，还使得全国面临无法逆转的人口下降之趋势。

The decades-long policy has created social and economic problems that have escalated into a full blown crisis. A growing aging population have left the country struggling with increased medial costs, reduced market labour force, and challenges to reverse the population decline. 

这一灾难性的政策还造成了无可挽回的损失。在那些渴望拥有两个孩子的中国老百姓为自己错失良机而扼腕叹息之际，中国城市里的年轻一代却纷纷选择放弃二胎，他们的理由是缺乏足够的财力和良好的生活环境以抚养第二胎，而更重要的是，没有一个抚养两个孩子所必须的稳定的家庭。鉴于中国年轻家庭离婚率持续飙升，一旦父母双方对簿法庭打离婚官司，这第二胎势必会引发更复杂的抚养权之争。

This disastrous policy has also created irrevocable damages. As those desperately wanting a second child are mourning their missed opportunities, urban young generations choose to forgo a second child, citing lack of financial resources and desired living conditions -- and more importantly, a stable family required to raise one more child. Giving the soaring divorce rate among young families, a second child is undoubtedly an additional cause of custody battle if parents face each other in family court. 

 《纽约时报》援引的一个提及生养二胎成本高昂的微信帖子就称：“要是养两个孩子，我会被拖死！”

“I would be bogged down to death by the second child!” a WeChat post was quoted in the Times, referring to the soaring costs of raising one more child.