男女出生率差距在缩小

The Population and Family Planning Commission has announced a decrease in the gap in the male-to-female birth ratio for a third consecutive year. But male babies are still outnumbering females by ten percent. So what are the consequences of this imbalance and what is the Chinese government doing to fix it?
人口和计划生育委员会称，男女出生比率的差距连续三年缩小了。但是男婴的数量仍然比女婴多。那么，这种不平衡会造成什么后果？中国政府将怎么解决这个问题呢？

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, over 24 million marriageable males will still be single by 2020. Xiao Zhang is likely to be one of these unlucky men. He comes from a small village and is now a migrant worker in Beijing.
据国家统计局称，至2020年，2400多万适婚男性仍将保持单身。小张有可能成为这些不幸男人中的一员。他出生于一个小乡村，现在是北京的一名农民工。

Xiao Zhang said, "I can’t find a girl in my village. Also I have to spend one year of my income on a new home, or else no girl will marry me."
小张称：“我在我们村庄里找不到一个女孩子。我还得花一年的收入在新家上，否则没有女孩子会嫁给我。”

Ironically, the imbalance is rooted in the long-standing discrimination against girls in China.
讽刺的是，这种不平衡源于中国长期以来歧视女孩子。

But this big imbalance in the birth rate didn’t appear until the 1980s, when ultrasonic technology allowed parents-to-be to identify the sex of the fetus while still in the womb. Since then, China has gradually become the country with the most imbalanced sex ratio for population under 15.
但是，出生率的巨大失调直到上世纪80年代才出现，那时，超声波技术允许准父母们鉴定胎儿还在子宫内的性别。从那时候开始，中国逐渐成为15岁以下人口性别比率失调最严重的国家。

Zhang Yumei, vice director of Navy General Hospital, said, "The international SRB is around 106. But Chinese SRB has soared up. It’s now 10 points higher than global average."
海军总医院副院长Zhang Yumei表示：“国际的出生人口性别比率（SRB）约为106。但是中国的出生人口性别比率猛增。现在比全球平均水平还高10点。”

With fewer females in the upcoming generation, this is accelerating the ageing process and stands to make a negative impact on economic growth. Also, the shortage of marriageable females is to bring about a "marriage squeeze". A number of reports have told of young women being kidnapped and sold as forced brides in the Chinese countryside. The government has taken note of these dangerous trends and is putting a lot of effort into bolstering the social status of women.
由于未来这一代人女性的减少，这使得老龄化进程加快，对经济发展产生负面影响。适婚女性的缺乏将带来“婚姻挤压”。一些报道称，中国农村有年轻女性被诱拐、出售，被迫成为新娘。政府已注意到这些危险的趋势，正努力改善女性的社会地位。

Zhang Yumei, vice director of Navy General Hospital, said, "Non-medical sex identification and sex-selective abortion, the so-called Two Illegalities, are strictly prohibited. These measures have made the SRB go down for three consecutive years."
海军总医院副院长Zhang Yumei表示：“非医学的性别鉴定和性别选择性堕胎这两种违法行为是被严厉禁止的。这些措施使得出生性别比率连续三年降低。”

A series of laws and regulations have been adopted to protect women’s rights and promote gender equality, including economic and political participation, education, property inheritance, marriage and old-age support.
中国通过了一系列法律法规来保护女性的权利、促进两性平等，其中包括经济政治参与、教育、房产继承、婚姻和养老。

Legislation is designed to eliminate direct causes of the rising SRB. But comprehensive and efficient countermeasures are needed to fight against sexual discrimination.
消除出生人口性别比率上升的直接根源的法律已制定。但是反对性别歧视也需要综合的、有效的对策。