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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Helen Davidson in Taipei, and Verna Yu

Millions of missing women: China grapples with legacy of one-child policy as population ages

China One Child policy visual
The Chinese government has tried to boost the birthrate by partially lifting the one-child policy but these measures failed to trigger a baby boom. Composite: Guardian Design/EPA/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock

Ming Ming, a boisterous six-year-old, longs to have a playmate, but his mother is adamant that she will not have another child.

“No way! One is quite enough,” Li Hong gasps. “Childcare, after-school activities, tutoring … you want them to have a good education but it costs money. We’re just ordinary working folks, not the super rich. The cost of bringing up two kids would kill us!” says the 43-year-old supermarket cashier from the southern province of Guangdong.

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