All Girls Allowed: The One-Child Policy stays until 2015...and an Olympic medalist is in hot water.

The One-Child Policy stays until 2015, Illegal Ultrasound Gangs, and an Olympic Diver's "Violation"  HEADLINES FROM CHINA ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Olympic gold medalist under fire for having second child Officials seek to affirm the One-Child Policy by punishing diver Tian Liang. Olympic gold medalist Tian Liang April 19, 2012 (People's Daily)   Authorities in China are investigating a former Olympic diving gold medalist for violating the One-Child Policy by arranging the birth of his second child in Hong Kong. The commission said it would reveal the result of a probe on whether Tian Liang and his wife were eligible for a second child or whether they had violated the policy. Tian, 32, who won two Olympic gold medals for China in diving, retired from the sport in 2007. The couple's first child was born in 2008; they welcomed their second child this year in Hong Kong and have since faced accusations of violating the One-Child Policy. The government said it was revoking his Party membership and taking action against Tian in order to prevent others from thinking that giving birth in Hong Kong would spare them from adhering to the One-Child Policy.    Read more...   From All Girls Allowed: "Chinese officials are sending a powerful message by taking action against Tian, a two-time Olympic gold medalist and actor. They are using the example of this very public figure to demonstrate their commitment to enforcing the policy on expectant families. No one, not even an Olympian and Communist Party member like Tian, can expect a reprieve."   ___________________________   One Child Policy to stay despite experts' critique The government says the policy will remain in place until at least 2015.   April 11, 2012 (Shanghai Daily) China aims to stabilize its population at about 1.39 billion people by 2015 by sticking to the existing family planning policy, dampening experts' hopes of an unwinding of the tough rules, according to a plan the central government posted on its website yesterday. The central government projected that during the next five years the nation's population will grow more slowly due to a drop in the number of fertile women in their 20s. The number of elderly people will keep rising, and the labor population will reach a peak and then decline slowly. The elderly population will increase quickly at first as people born in the nation's first baby boom in the 1950s enter their old age. China reached a milestone last year when the government announced that, for the first time, the urban population surpassed the rural one.   Read more...   From All Girls Allowed: "This announcement confirms what we have suspected: despite the ongoing gendercide and warnings from experts about an aging population, the One-Child Policy is here to stay. Mothers will continue to face threats and undergo forced abortions. Girls will continue to disappear as parents abort or abandon daughters."   ___________________________   China busts woman for illegal backseat ultrasounds  on moms wanting sons   April 10, 2012 (Associated Press)   Police in China have arrested a woman for performing ultrasound tests in the back seats of cars and illegally telling mothers the gender of their fetus, state media said Tuesday. It is forbidden in China to tell expectant parents which sex their child will be because the practice has encouraged parents with a traditional preference for sons to abort female fetuses, skewing the ratio of boys to girls. Sonograms are allowed but gender identification is forbidden. The official Xinhua News Agency said a woman surnamed Hu was arrested last month in Wuhan and is suspected of being part of a group of three people and a network of middlemen who provided gender testing across the city of 4.5 million. Women usually paid around 700 yuan ($110) for the service, it said.   Read more...   From All Girls Allowed: "Illegal ultrasounds that lead to gendercide are all too common in China. We are thankful that officials busted this particular network, and we hope that this arrest will motivate others to stop enabling the crime of gendercide."   ___________________________   More headlines:      The End of China's One-Child Policy? (April 19, 2012, Dexter Roberts for Businessweek) Last year's publication of China's 2010 census, which revealed a much more pronounced decline in births than previously est imated, galvanized 20 or so of China's top demographers, sociologists, and economists to advocate ending the one-child policy. "It is time to think about removing this policy decided 30 years ago-China's situation has changed so much," says Gu Baochang, a demographer at Renmin University of China in Beijing and one of the informal leaders of the group, which has twice submitted petitions to China's top leaders urging them to reform or end the policy.    123 million Chinese over 65 (April 8, 2012, Shanghai Daily)   Around 123 million Chinese were aged over 65 at the end of 2011 - 9.1 percent of the total population, the Health Aging Symposium announced yesterday. Chinese seniors aged 80 or above are set to account for 30 percent of over-65s by 2050, and the ratio of working-aged Chinese to seniors will drop from 10:1 in 2000 to 2.8:1 by then, the symposium said. World Health Organization statistics show that globally the number of people aged over 60 has doubled since 1980, and by 2050 there will be 395 million aged 80 or above, four times current figures. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that globally in the next five years, over-65s will outnumber under-5s for the first time.   ___________________________   Does reading this move you to help?            Use the links above to spread the word to your friends!   REPRESENT  ....want people to ask you about gendercide in China?   The All Girls Allowed Shop is filled with deals on all the gear you need to spark conversation, expose the problem and stand for girls and mothers in China.   Forward email This email was sent to reena_shaw@yahoo.com by kat@allgirlsallowed.org |   Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. All Girls Allowed | 101 Huntington Avenue | Suite 2205 | Boston | MA | 02199

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter Everyone!!

It's been one busy weekend for us!

Not pictured yet--

One Egg hung party,

Coloring Easter Eggs,

China Care Gala Performance.

Pictured, today's festivities from that sneaky bunny!

He hid all of our eggs!!

Josie and Clara Rose were up before 6:00 Am-- ready for the search!

Not only did the Bunny hide their colored eggs--

He hid a few extrax as well!

Then we dressed and headed off to church. 

It was a wondeful afternoon--

great time for a bike ride around the block! 

We hope you had a wonderful Easter!

Fun Day of Sisterly Love

Sunday after church the girls and I headed to a playground that is on our way

home and that we have not been to for awhile. 

There was a forecast for rain, but we figured we could give it a whirl and just leave if it started to rain. 

We were so glad that we stopped because we had a really REALLY fun time!

It was fairly warm (for our area) and there were quite a few other families at the playground.

Josie going down one of the slides.

Clara Rose going down a different slide, "criss-cross applesauce!" 

Swinging in the big recliner swings. 

Chatting with Mr. Potatoe Head. 

I was fairly surprised that after only about 1/2 hour the girls said they didn't want to play anymore.

They were looking beyond the playground and announced they wanted

to go "xporin!"

So "xporin" we went!

The girls wanted lots of pictures taken as well!

They were both so sweet to each other-- no fighting,

no whining,

no complaining!

Just love! 

During our walk Clara Rose asked, "Josie- you luv me?"

Josie answered, "Of course. I am your big sister. I luv you."

Clara Rose smiled and said, "I luv you Josie. I luv you Momma."

Back near the playground we went for a couple rides on the carousel. 

The second ride, Clara Rose picked the row of horses--meaning she got to pick the horse she wanted and we had to ride a horse in that same row.

She picked and then was a little scared because her horse was on the outside.

Josie told her it was OK.

"I am with you. I will hold your hand and take care of you." 

That worked out just fine.

The First Egg Hunt

This past weekend marked the first of several egg hunts for the Easter Season.

Really, we have so much planned coming up, I am trying to figure out when we are going to color our own Easter Eggs!!!

It was a cold and drizzly morning--not quite what we were hoping for.

I have been working on teaching the girls that often in life, things will not work out exactly the way you would like and you have to learn how to make the best of what you do have.

This is exactly what we did today!

Clara Rose gathering eggs.

Josie and Clara Rose showing off their eggs filled with prizes. 

Inside the facilities, the girls opened their eggs for the treats inside. 

A few of our friends joined us for the egg hunt. 

The girls enjoyed doing a few crafts. 

Despite the rain, we had a funny bunny time on a cold drizzly morning!

March Photo Dump

Some of these were taken before March and I may have even posted them  before . . .

The Patriots may have lost the Super Bowl this year, but they definitely win the cutest fans award!

St. Patrick's Day-- Josie's Green Hair is in her ponytail-- not viewable from the front.

Playing games with their China Care playmates

Dressed for a gymnastics party-- can you tell they just woke up from a nap?

Very lively and having fun at a friend's gymnastics party.

Everyone should live life with this kind of enthusiasm!

Nothing screams "SPRING!"

Like matching purple scooter skirts and pink shirts displaying a purple butterfly!

Blazing a nature trail looking for seals, crabs, and interesting rocks!

Fun times with cousin Nate-- always a Happy Day!