Barbara Demick, a seasoned journalist and author, shares her compelling insights from her new book, 'Daughters of the Bamboo Grove.' She discusses the chilling realities of China's one-child policy, including the illegal abduction of children by officials and the devastating effects on families. Demick recounts her arduous journey to reunite twins separated by distance and circumstance. Through personal narratives, she explores the identity struggles of adoptees and the broader implications of social control in both China and America.
52:24
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
menu_book Books
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
China's Brutal One-Child Policy
China's One-Child Policy was an authoritarian population control from 1980 to 2015, brutally enforced.
It was designed to boost per capita income by mathematically reducing population growth.
insights INSIGHT
Rural Brutality Under One-Child
Abuses of the One-Child Policy were worse in rural areas where people lacked influence.
Local officials were incentivized to enforce harsh punishments and raise funds through fines.
insights INSIGHT
Abductions Fueled by Adoption Demand
As China boomed in the 90s, families resisted giving up daughters, yet officials started abducting children to meet adoption demand.
Adoption fees funded orphanages, creating a corrupt incentive system for kidnappings.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins
Barbara Demick
Barbara Demick's "Daughters of the Bamboo Grove" unveils the harrowing consequences of China's one-child policy. The book follows the journey of separated twins, one raised in America and the other in China, highlighting the illegal adoptions that occurred during this period. Demick meticulously details the brutality of the policy's enforcement, including forced abortions and the kidnapping of children. Through meticulous research and compelling storytelling, she exposes the dark underbelly of the adoption system and the lasting impact on families. The book is a powerful testament to resilience and the enduring bond between sisters.
IBM and the Holocaust
The Strategic Alliance Between Nazi Germany and America's Most Powerful Corporation
Edwin Black
This book, written by Edwin Black, documents the business relationship between IBM and the Nazi regime from the early days of the Third Reich to the end of World War II. Black outlines how IBM's technology, including punch cards and data processing systems, was crucial for the Nazi regime's operations, such as national census data, military logistics, and the management of concentration camps. The book exposes the ongoing business ties between IBM and the Nazi government despite international calls for an economic boycott and the severe repression of political opponents and Jewish populations. The expanded editions include new evidence, photographs, and internal company correspondence that further substantiate IBM's involvement[1][2][3].
Somewhere Sisters
Somewhere Sisters
Erica Hayasaki
Erica Hayasaki's "Somewhere Sisters" delves into the experiences of Vietnamese adoptees and their journeys to reconnect with their birth families. The book combines investigative journalism with personal narratives, offering a nuanced and compassionate look at the complexities of transnational adoption. Hayasaki explores the emotional and logistical challenges faced by adoptees as they navigate their identities and search for their roots. The book highlights the lasting impact of adoption on individuals and families, and the importance of understanding the cultural and historical contexts surrounding these adoptions. It is a powerful and moving exploration of family, identity, and belonging.
Nothing to envy
ordinary lives in North Korea
Barbara Demick
In this landmark work of literary nonfiction, Barbara Demick follows the lives of six North Korean citizens over fifteen years, a period marked by significant events such as the death of Kim Il-sung, the rise of Kim Jong-il, and a devastating famine that killed one-fifth of the population. Demick's meticulous reporting brings to life the Orwellian world of North Korea, where displays of affection are punished, informants are rewarded, and an offhand remark can lead to severe punishment. The book humanizes the North Korean people, showing how they fall in love, raise families, nurture ambitions, and struggle for survival, ultimately leading to their profound disillusionment with the government.
They Thought They Were Free
The Germans, 1933-45
Milton Sanford Mayer
In 'They Thought They Were Free,' Milton Sanford Mayer explores the lives of ten ordinary Germans during the Nazi regime, revealing how decent people became complicit in atrocities. The book examines the mechanisms of persuasion, conformity, and denial that allowed fascism to entwine itself with the German populace, serving as a timeless warning about the fragility of freedom and the dangers of complacency.
The Population Bomb
Anne H. Ehrlich
Paul Ehrlich
Published in 1968, 'The Population Bomb' by Paul and Anne Ehrlich predicts catastrophic consequences, including mass starvation and environmental ruin, due to unchecked population growth. The book argues that immediate action is necessary to control population growth to prevent these dire outcomes. Although many of the Ehrlichs' predictions did not come to pass, the book significantly raised awareness about population and environmental issues and influenced public policy in the 1960s and 1970s. The authors emphasize the need for conscious regulation of human numbers and highlight the strain that growing populations place on the natural world[1][4][5].
Journalist and author Barbara Demick discusses her new, powerful, and must-read book "Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins". With a deep boots-on-the-ground experience, she details the brutality of China's one-child policy and the profound lasting effects it continues to have. She describes the scandalous adoption frenzy that took place, where officials illegally kidnapped Chinese children from their families and disappeared them. Demick found a needle in a haystack and managed to reunite one set of twins who were strewn across the planet, from America to China.
Watch on BitChute / Brighteon / Rumble / Substack / YouTube
Geopolitics & Empire · Barbara Demick: Abducted & Adopted, The Story of China's One-Child Policy #553
*Support Geopolitics & Empire!
Become a Member https://geopoliticsandempire.substack.com
Donate https://geopoliticsandempire.com/donations
Consult https://geopoliticsandempire.com/consultation
**Visit Our Affiliates & Sponsors!
Above Phone https://abovephone.com/?above=geopolitics
easyDNS (15% off with GEOPOLITICS) https://easydns.com
Escape Technocracy course (15% off with GEOPOLITICS) https://escapethetechnocracy.com/geopolitics
PassVult https://passvult.com
Sociatates Civis (CitizenHR, CitizenIT, CitizenPL) https://societates-civis.com
Wise Wolf Gold https://www.wolfpack.gold/?ref=geopolitics
Websites
Website https://www.barbarademick.com
Daughters of the Bamboo Grove: From China to America, a True Story of Abduction, Adoption, and Separated Twins https://www.barbarademick.com/book/daughters-of-the-bamboo-grove
X https://x.com/barbarademick
About Barbara Demick
Barbara Demick is author of Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea and Logavina Street: Life and Death in a Sarajevo Neighborhood and the recently released Eat the Buddha: Life and Death in a Tibetan Town, published by Random House in July 2020. She was bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times in Beijing and Seoul, and previously reported from the Middle East and Balkans for the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Demick grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Yale College Her work has won many awards including the Samuel Johnson prize (now the Baillie Gifford prize) for non-fiction in the U.K., the Overseas Press Club’s human rights reporting award, the Polk Award and the Robert F. Kennedy award and Stanford University’s Shorenstein Award for Asia coverage. Her North Korea book was a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. She was a press fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Bagehot fellow in business journalism at Columbia University and a visiting professor of journalism at Princeton University. She lives in New York City.
*Podcast intro music is from the song "The Queens Jig" by "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)
Geopolitics & Empire 
