Zheng Shuang, 29, was one of China’s most popular actresses after reaching fame a decade ago. Zhang Heng, 30, was a talented producer on a variety show. In 2018, the pair went public with a set of couple selfies, and often appeared affectionately in the spotlight afterwards – even co-starring in a popular reality show.
So, fans were shocked when Zhang adopted the Chinese Twitter-like platform, Weibo, earlier this month claiming that he has been imprisoned in the United States for more than a year, left alone to “care for and protect two young and innocent lives”.
The couple is believed to have split up while two surrogate mothers they hired were pregnant with their children, with Zheng accused of abandoning the babies.
He also published a recording of an alleged phone call, during which Zheng’s parents allegedly suggested abandoning the children or giving them up for adoption, while Zheng reportedly expressed frustration that abortion was not a viable option, as the mothers were 7 months at the time.
The allegations shocked many in China, where family ties are usually valued, and generated outrage on social media. This also sparked debate about surrogacy in a country that is officially opposed to the practice, but which has an expanding underground market for it.
Critical storm
The Weibo scandal erupted after Zhang’s posting, with the associated hashtag accumulating more than 3 billion views and generating a torrent of criticism against Zheng. And the reaction was not limited to the online sphere.
Within days, Zheng was censored by the state media and condemned by the ruling Communist Party (CCP) agencies in China. “Surrogacy is clearly prohibited in our country, and its contempt for life makes us shiver with rage,” said state broadcaster CCTV in a comment.
The main CCP commission that oversees political and legal affairs accused Zheng of “taking advantage of legal loopholes” by looking for surrogate mothers in the United States, calling his actions “definitely not law-abiding”. “Surrogacy is banned in China because it uses women’s wombs as a tool and sells life as a commercial product,” the commission wrote.
Zheng was abandoned by several international brands, including the luxury fashion brand Prada.
In response to the firestorm, Zheng wrote on Weibo on Tuesday that “this is a very sad and private matter for me”. She did not directly address allegations about the surrogacy dispute, but said she “did not violate state instructions while on Chinese soil and respected all laws and regulations abroad”.
Technically, Zheng was right.
Although the surrogate has long been in the sights of the Chinese government, considered a threat to its rigid population control policies, the country’s national legislature has never passed legislation that explicitly prohibits it.
In 2001, the Ministry of Health issued a set of regulations on assisted reproductive technology, which prohibited medical institutions and health professionals from “practicing any form of substitute technology”. The trade in sperm, eggs, zygotes and embryos is also strictly prohibited. Medical institutions can be fined up to 30,000 yuan ($ 4,632) for violations, according to the rules.
But the document did not prohibit individuals or agencies from commissioning or providing surrogate services, nor did it list any corresponding punishment. The legal limbo has led to a growing underground domestic surrogacy industry, driven by huge demand, while other Chinese couples are going abroad in search of surrogate services.
The United States, where commercial surrogacy is allowed for foreigners in some states, has become the top choice for wealthy Chinese elites, thanks to its mature industry and high security standards. A child born in the USA will also come with American citizenship – a bonus for some Chinese parents.
A total ban?
Debates on the ethical issues of surrogacy have been occurring worldwide, with opponents warning that the practice can lead to the exploitation and trafficking of women, the commodification of the female body and children and the deepening of the inequality between rich and poor.
But the harsh official condemnation of Zheng’s actions comes from a government that for decades has been criticized for using forced abortion and sterilization to limit the number of children in each family. Although China’s one-child policy was relaxed in 2016 – allowing couples to have two children – the country now has a falling birth rate and a rapidly aging society, which means it urgently needs more newborns to avoid an approaching population crisis.
The Chinese government has resorted to a flurry of policies to encourage young people to marry and have children – with very limited success. However, it still prohibits the commercial use of many reproductive technologies, such as egg freezing, which would give women the freedom to have children later.
The surrogate, along with other forms of reproductive assistance technology, offers an opportunity for infertile couples to have biological children. According to a 2009 survey by the China Population Association, 12.5% of Chinese people of childbearing age – or 40 million people – were infertile. There are also surrogacy demands from a large group of older couples who have lost their only child or who simply want a second now that they can, as well as an increasing number of LGBT couples.
Although Chinese health officials and other government agencies have launched periodic crackdowns, including a joint campaign in 2015 by a dozen government departments against the services of surrogate mothers, it has not been successful in the long term.
This has led some experts to suggest that Beijing should legalize the practice at home, to bring more protection to surrogate mothers and to meet the growing demand from infertile couples and older parents in the wake of the relaxation of the one-child policy. But many oppose the idea and call for surrogacy to be banned, citing a number of ethical issues.
Yuan Xiaolu, a Chinese lawyer, told state news agency Xinhua that the “lost cost” of violating regulations is an important reason for the underground market to survive the crackdowns.
The lack of regulation on the sector also means that there is little protection for surrogate mothers and babies.
Last week, the state news website The Paper reported that a couple canceled a deal with a surrogate mother in southwest China after finding out that she had syphilis during pregnancy. The surrogate mother finally raised the child on her own, but was still unable to register her three years later, because she sold the child’s birth certificate on the black market to pay hospital bills after having a caesarean section.
End of career?
After Zheng’s controversy, there were new calls for China to ban all forms of surrogate. But some analysts say this will simply make the practice even more clandestine, as demand is likely to only increase in the future.
It remains to be seen whether the government will respond with another round of repression or propose legislation to explicitly prohibit the practice.
But what seems certain is that Zheng’s career as a first-rate actress has suffered a blow. Although public outrage on Chinese social media was mainly aimed at her seemingly non-maternal instincts, and supposedly leaving her distant partner alone and unable to return home with two children born in the United States due to the pandemic, it was clear that the state resented it even more. bypassing your surrogacy rules.
On Wednesday night, the National Radio and Television Administration of China issued a comment on the Zheng scandal. “(She) circumvented the law to seek surrogacy abroad, and then wanting to abandon (her babies), actors like her lack personal virtue,” said the comment.
“We will not give the chance and platform for celebrities involved in such scandals to make public appearances.”
