I haven't seen

that new "Bachelorettes" show on Fox television, but I know

to go for the second season after wrapping up production in Alaska. It

seems that China has plenty of available men right now, and the number

is growing fast.

According to

a front-page story this week in USA Today, the Chinese have a serious

problem on their hands. Most, if not all, of it is the doing of its government.

In 1979, China

found itself in what it considered a major population problem and decided

to do something about it. Fearing that the masses of people would soon

outstrip the country's resources, the government made a ruling unprecedented

in modern times all couples were limited to one child apiece.

That curbed

the birth rate a bit, but it set in motion a series of other events that

could prove catastrophic. Authorities are now estimating that over the

next 20 years, as many as 40 million Chinese men could be faced with no

prospects for marriage because there are not enough women to go around.

With a culture

that overwhelmingly favors boys over girls, Chinese couples have been

taking advantage of modern technology and weeding out female fetuses to

the point that 116.9 boys were born in China for every 100 girls, according

to that country's census. Compare that to the U.S. ratio of 104.8 boys

per 100 girls, or the worldwide ratio of 105-107 boys per 100 girls, and

the staggering imbalance is clear.

As it has been

more than 20 years since China's one-child policy was instituted, the

first children born under that policy have now reached adulthood. The

effects are already being felt as hundreds of thousands of workers migrate

from the rural areas to the cities and large contingents of single men

settle in specific areas without women. Obviously, the women are taking

advantage of the situation and can be rather selective when thinking of

marriage. But as they narrow their criteria for suitable mates, a large

number of less affluent and less educated (40 percent of unmarried rural

men are illiterate, according to the USA Today report) men are left with

no such options. Some expert worry that the crime rate in a variety of

categories will continue to grow.

The Chinese

magazine Beijing Luntan opined several years ago that "such sexual

crimes as forced marriages, girls stolen for wives, bigamy, visiting prostitutes,

rape, adultery ... homosexuality ... and weird sexual habits appear to

be unavoidable." Apparently, such practices as prostitution and the

buying and selling of of women as brides are already on the rise.

With many fearing

massive unrest in future years, social scientists are now speculating

that China could be forced to take drastic action to keep its male populace

under control. Some predict that the country will use increased authoritarian

rule or increase the size of its armies, effectively looking for conflicts

with other nations to keep these millions of men busy.

Whatever happens,

many men will be forced to consider a lifetime of bachelorhood, like it

or not. As Beijing Luntan said, they will learn to "handle the punishment

they have received as a result of ... the mistakes of the previous generation."

Maybe this

will serve as a lesson to governments around the world not to involve

themselves in decisions best left to God. Is it an accident that, when

left alone, billions of natural births over the course of a generational

span turn out almost equally balanced between male and female?

China should

have found another solution to its population concerns, like joining the

20th century and abandoning communism so its people could be fed and educated

properly and have a chance at a better quality of life. Instead, the government

forced couples to make decisions they never should have had to make.

Given the centuries

of history and tradition there, could anyone expect less than massive

illegal pre-natal screenings and wholesale abortions of females, especially

since China encouraged abortions to keep the one-child rule in effect

in the first place?

Now, after

decades of seeing the Chinese government play God, its citizens will pay

the price.

[Monroe Roark

can be reached at [email protected].]