For all of the extraordinary economic progress being made across China, there were three great ethical challenges that struck me: the enormous economic gap separating the Chinese population, the approaching major problems of the "one child per family" policy, and the high incidence of HIV and AIDS in the country.

These ethical and societal challenges are formidable, and even the closely controlled Chinese media are reporting on them frequently. These challenges cannot be ignored if China's potential is to be realized.

The Economic Gap

Assuming the Chinese population is now at 1.3 billion persons, the top fifth of that population --- 260 million people --- earn 50 percent of the annual income in China; these people tend to live in the burgeoning cities and economic centers. The bottom fifth of the population, another 260 million people, earn 4.7 percent of the annual income; these people are primarily farmers and live in the rural areas. The remaining 780 million people earn what's in between.

That enormous divide between the top one-fifth of the population and the bottom one-fifth of the population is both unhealthy economically, and unsustainable in any society. Already, signs of growing unrest are evident in the vast rural areas of China. According to Chinese newspapers, the poorer people are seeking two avenues to address their unhappiness: increasing numbers are flocking to the larger urban areas in search of work --- any kind of work; and growing numbers are protesting out in the rural areas, directly challenging government economic policies and demanding improvements in their standard of living.

It's ironic that as television becomes more widely accessible across China, more people are increasingly aware of their plight and the opportunities that they want for themselves and their children.

Economic development all across the country is the only viable option since the cities cannot possibly absorb the millions of people who want to flee their misery and poverty, and add to the already-crowded urban centers.

One Child Policy

To better control the burgeoning Chinese population, there is a "one child per family" policy in effect across the country. While strictly enforced in the urban areas, it is less effectively enforced across the rural areas.

The "one child" policy has created definite moral problems, as well as unanticipated behavioral and societal problems. Maintaining that policy has resulted in massive numbers of abortions as well as forced sterilizations --- a wholesale disregard for the value of human life. Because a male child is deemed more valuable to the family than a female, many female fetuses are aborted as soon as tests determine the sex of the fetus. Too frequently, infant girls are simply abandoned.

A positive note was a large number of American couples staying in the same hotel as I was in Beijing, all here to adopt abandoned infant girls. It was so encouraging to see these generous families with their new babies at breakfast in the mornings.

An only child grows up without the companionship and the give-and-take of brothers and sisters. As a result, the only child becomes far more self-centered, and is easily spoiled by two parents and two sets of grandparents. They dote upon the son or daughter, and create, as one commentator put it, "mini-emperors and empresses" --- not qualities that any society needs to produce creative and productive future leaders.

Since in the Chinese tradition, children are expected to care for both their parents and their grandparents when they grow older, the burden on this one child will be enormous. Six people generously helped raise and form this son or daughter. However, as an adult, the one child will be expected to extend some measure of support to these same six people.

But what about this son or daughter's own family after they marry? The single child may then have to care for a total of eight people.

Since that's simply not reasonable nor possible, what will happen to all of the elderly Chinese people who would normally be cared for by a wide network of children and grandchildren --- a built-in safety net of care and support?

The predictions are that increasing social displacement will occur, since the Chinese tradition of respect and care for elders will not be accomplished as it has for thousands of years. Who will offer the care and support for all of these elderly, retired people --- whose numbers will be in the hundreds of millions?

Across China, social scientists, university scholars, and government officials are now reviewing the assumptions of the "one child per family" concept, and already there are signs hinting at a change in that policy.

HIV and AIDS

For many years now, China has been reluctant to reveal accurate information on the numbers of HIV infected persons across the country. For one thing, few convenient and reliable tests were available to confirm active cases; in addition, the official policy was to downplay anything negative about the society.

But denial and control are no longer helpful in a long-range program of prevention and of treatment for this disease. Official Chinese figures in their newspapers point to 860,000 known cases of HIV/AIDS. Estimates are that in five years, China could have 10 million cases of people afflicted with the disease.

Vast rural areas have become HIV positive since very poor Chinese became involved in taking intravenous drugs and many sold their blood to laboratories in order to enhance their meager incomes. But that drug use and blood collection were done with non-sterile needles and other instruments, and HIV spread rapidly spread across many poor and rural areas of the country.

Conclusion

The encouraging news about China's enormous developmental growth is that the government is increasingly forthcoming about the societal challenges facing the country, and that proactive steps are being taken to deal with many of those challenges. Economic growth on its own is insufficient for a nation to progress. An embrace of fundamental ethical and moral values, openness, basic liberties and freedoms, and greater participation in decisions which affect people's lives offer the best hope for a China full of promise for the future.