This is pretty essential viewing for an example of what the human race can do. I would have preferred if the film had been slightly more even handed, for example:

• acknowledging the suffering, crushing poverty and environmental consequences of overpopulation
• examined if the inherent historical sexism in China had led to abandoned female babies prior to the one child policy (as may have been the case)

Those misgivings aside this is very insightful, even for someone who likes to think he tries to keep up to date with world events. The consequence of the combination of totalitarianism and sexism is pretty horrific. The attitudes to organised adoption and ambivalence to finding blood relatives were surprising

I have read elsewhere, claims that forced abortions were extremely rare, but when you have witnesses, in China, stating that it was not a rarity then I have to come down on that side of the argument.

The overriding sense I got was that, forget the cure for cancer or even dementia. The number one medical breakthrough for our species will be a non-intrusive, cheap male temporary sterilisation. Then we can have all the upside of a one child policy with none of the horrific consequences outlined here.