Arrests in China over widespread network determining gender of unborn babies

A NETWORK operating in China that illegally determined the gender of unborn babies for parents wanting a male child has been busted by police.

A NETWORK operating in China that illegally determined the gender of unborn babies has been raided by police.

Expectant parents wanting male children, a prized asset among families, contacted the network who then smuggled foetal blood samples to Hong Kong for gender testing, officials stated, BBC reported.

There were 75 people arrested for the scam, which allegedly earned $30 million and operated across large parts of China.

At least 300 people were involved in the illegal service, the authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang reportedly stated.

Chinese families, especially in rural areas, continue to prize boys above girls deeming that boys have a greater capacity for earning and independence in China’s traditional society.

This baby boy nicknamed Xiaoxiao, survived being flushed down a toilet by his mother shortly after she gave birth in Suide County in northwestern China’s Shaanxi Province. Picture: Supplied

China ended its one-child policy in December last year, which was seen as contributing to the country’s gender imbalance.

Chinese population officials earlier this week warned that that the country’s gender imbalance, one of the worst in the world, would remain for years to come. In 2005, China said there were 34 million surplus males, with 136 unmarried men to every 100 unmarried women born after 1980, and 206 unmarried men to 100 unmarried women born after 1970.

Nobel prize winning economist Amartya Sen said that as late as 1990, there were 100 million missing women in Asia and Africa, with China accounting for half of them.