YUNNAN, Southwest China — Zhi Zhengjiao, 17, grew up among rolling green hills full of corn stalks and tea shrubs. But despite this natural vista, other outlooks remain dull. For children like Zhengjiao, there are two typical career paths: becoming a migrant worker in the city or staying home to farm. Zhengjiao, who has waist-length hair and bangs that nearly cover her eyes, is creative … Continue reading Left-Field Careers for Farmers’ Kids
GUANGDONG, South China — Early Sunday morning, eight teenagers sit in a row looking at pictures of male and female bodies on the whiteboard and trying their best to answer the teacher’s question: Which parts of our bodies are private? “Wee-wee,” Ming Hang, a 12-year-old boy with autism, quickly replies, half giggling. “Remember, let’s call it a penis,” the teacher corrects him amid laughter from … Continue reading Teaching Sex Ed to China’s Special Needs Students
From his first day at school, Sun Bin, now 21, was bullied for being feminine, a “sissy.” “I’m used to being called a faggot or a pervert,” said Sun, who is now a junior at a university in central China’s Henan province. There’s one instance from primary school that Sun will never forget. A dozen or so female classmates one day picked him up, carried … Continue reading China’s LGBT Youth Face Lots of Bullying, Little Acceptance
The news that an ordinary Chinese high school girl from Hangzhou was accepted by Harvard University created a stir amongst Chinese netizens on Sina Weibo this week. Thousands of Weibo users criticized the Chinese media for hiding information from the public when it turned out that the girl is actually a US citizen from a wealthy family. Reports of an ordinary girl named Guo Wenjing … Continue reading Netizens Upset over Chinese Harvard Girl News Story
A young boy from Henan was sent away from school for being autistic, leading to furious reactions from Chinese netizens. China’s education system is failing our children with special needs, they say. In Puyang (濮阳, Henan Province) an 8-year-old boy named Xiaoxuan (an assumed name) was kicked out of school after over 40 parents opposed to him to studying in the same classroom with other … Continue reading China’s Neglected Problem: Student Kicked Out for Being Autistic
When East Meets West 