Dr. Philip of China (老 娘舅 – as the local program is called)
The local TV station has a popular program, it revolves around two or three local people who are not TV celebs but ordinary citizens – who by desire and experiences volunteer to mediate family and personal situation. It is widely popular and because they do not get paid. The station provides them with transportation to and from the station, and they are accompanied by a cameraman, the episodes are not staged, and are real time.
One involves an aunt and her niece, the young woman’s dad passed away, left a small sum in the neighborhood of six thousand or six thousand five, depended on those version it was. Anyways, arguments ensured, then came to throwing stuff to each other, then almost came to blows.
The mediator was a man about in his sixties; his mind seemed almost made up. Given China’s society of respectful to elders, and proper pecking order, he deemed the younger woman out of line, with the whole neighborhood watching.
Another one situation I didn’t watch, but was related to me. A young lady gave birth to first born baby girl a while back, her husband was not pleased, and he initiated a divorce.
The wife contacted our Chinese Dr.Philp. The episode was on TV. Of course opinion was split right down to the middle. Depends who you talk to. And one day I worked in tandem with a woman worker on the sewing floor, she was efficient, fast and polite.
Later someone told me she was that lady who was divorced from her husband because she had a baby girl.
The country while progressive in more ways than one, the one child policy puts a dark shadow on the family foundation. I was told right at the moment, the young male to young female ratio is 1.1 something to 1. The law of nature tells us there is a fifty to fifty chance of bearing boys to girls, here you have it. Another underlying situation that will come to a head few years down the road.