One Child Nation

00:33:28,215 --> 00:33:30,759 though he hadn't been cleaned after birth. 367 00:33:30,843 --> 00:33:35,764 He was a beautiful baby. 368 00:33:37,516 --> 00:33:40,144 But he was dead. A smile was still on his face. 369 00:33:43,105 --> 00:33:44,481 I was wondering, 370 00:33:44,565 --> 00:33:51,321 "Why would he smile after being aborted and killed?" 371 00:33:53,365 --> 00:33:57,661 It's as if he knew it'd be miserable to be alive in China, 372 00:33:57,745 --> 00:34:02,374 and he was happy 373 00:34:02,458 --> 00:34:06,295 to have avoided it. 374 00:34:15,262 --> 00:34:18,265 You still think the One-Child Policy is good, right? 375 00:34:18,348 --> 00:34:23,145 Yes. If it weren't for the One-Child Policy, there'd be cannibalism in China. 376 00:34:24,897 --> 00:34:27,149 -It would be that serious? -Absolutely. 377 00:34:27,232 --> 00:34:33,614 If you have an apple, one child can have it all, but four kids would have to share. 378 00:34:33,697 --> 00:34:36,492 Come on. How much can a child eat? 379 00:34:36,575 --> 00:34:40,245 Besides, they will soon grow up and be able to contribute. 380 00:34:40,329 --> 00:34:42,331 People used to starve to death. 381 00:34:42,414 --> 00:34:46,752 Do you realize how difficult life was for your dad's generation? 382 00:34:46,835 --> 00:34:53,550 Nothing to eat except rice husks, which caused chronic constipation. 383 00:34:54,134 --> 00:34:56,512 But they still survived. 384 00:34:56,595 --> 00:35:00,432 They survived, but living conditions were extremely harsh. 385 00:35:01,558 --> 00:35:03,268 What about Grandpa's generation? 386 00:35:03,352 --> 00:35:05,145 Even harsher. 387 00:35:21,829 --> 00:35:25,457 How many children do I have? 388 00:35:27,167 --> 00:35:28,585 Your eldest aunt... 389 00:35:29,711 --> 00:35:31,797 your dad, 390 00:35:31,880 --> 00:35:34,258 your uncle, 391 00:35:34,341 --> 00:35:36,969 another son named Guoguo. 392 00:35:37,052 --> 00:35:38,053 Guoguo. 393 00:35:39,346 --> 00:35:42,224 And another daughter named Lanlan. 394 00:35:43,016 --> 00:35:46,770 Lanlan died in your grandma's arms. 395 00:35:51,900 --> 00:35:55,904 Back then many village children had smallpox... 396 00:35:56,989 --> 00:36:00,784 but that wasn't what she was suffering from. 397 00:36:01,618 --> 00:36:04,538 The doctor thought it was smallpox and gave her a shot at noon. 398 00:36:04,621 --> 00:36:07,541 By the afternoon, she had died. 399 00:36:10,961 --> 00:36:12,212 Guoguo died of... 400 00:36:14,798 --> 00:36:18,010 It had something to do with his brain. 401 00:36:18,093 --> 00:36:20,929 -Meningitis? -That's it. Meningitis. 402 00:36:24,850 --> 00:36:27,394 My grandpa is 83. 403 00:36:27,477 --> 00:36:31,481 He lived through wars, famines and revolutions. 404 00:36:32,774 --> 00:36:35,903 My own parents weren't much better off. 405 00:36:35,986 --> 00:36:40,073 My father died of a brain hemorrhage when he was 33. 406 00:36:41,366 --> 00:36:45,996 And his short life was more about survival than finding fulfillment. 407 00:36:54,338 --> 00:36:59,676 None of my family questioned the policy or how it was implemented. 408 00:36:59,760 --> 00:37:03,639 The government used music and TV to show people a better life 409 00:37:03,722 --> 00:37:05,933 that they could imagine themselves living, 410 00:37:06,016 --> 00:37:08,435 as long as they followed the rules. 411 00:37:17,402 --> 00:37:20,572 Even in the hardest times 412 00:37:20,656 --> 00:37:24,743 You stare down challenges With the utmost sincerity 413 00:37:25,619 --> 00:37:29,122 Press on and have faith 414 00:37:29,206 --> 00:37:33,669 Tomorrow will surely be a much better day 415 00:37:42,594 --> 00:37:48,392 You shouldn't be so critical of the One-Child Policy. 416 00:37:50,394 --> 00:37:55,107 While it's cruel to demolish people's homes, 417 00:37:55,190 --> 00:38:01,363 it's a necessary measure to enforce the policy 418 00:38:01,446 --> 00:38:04,825 since everyone wants more children. 419 00:38:08,829 --> 00:38:11,957 I wish I could say something to my mom. 420 00:38:12,040 --> 00:38:14,918 Like most people in China, she believes the policy 421 00:38:15,002 --> 00:38:17,462 was necessary for China's survival. 422 00:38:18,964 --> 00:38:21,091 But I wondered if people like her 423 00:38:21,174 --> 00:38:25,679 really thought it was worth the sacrifices each family made. 424 00:38:27,764 --> 00:38:29,516 When I was born... 425 00:38:30,767 --> 00:38:35,230 If I were born a girl, I would have been put into a basket and sent away. 426 00:38:36,523 --> 00:38:40,318 If I were a girl, I would have been discarded. 427 00:38:46,867 --> 00:38:49,703 Our father died young. 428 00:38:51,913 --> 00:38:56,793 You were in middle school and I was in elementary school. 429 00:38:56,877 --> 00:39:01,298 Since Mom couldn't afford to put us both in school, 430 00:39:01,381 --> 00:39:04,801 she decided that you should start working right away. 431 00:39:06,094 --> 00:39:11,224 You could help the family financially, 432 0