"Although the state has only recently taken an official 
   role in the control of human reproduction, its current
   policies stem from the age-old concept of the
   individual's responsibility to the collective. It is this
   emphasis on the collective good that has driven modern
   eugenics discourse since the late nineteenth century,
   when Chinese intellectuals the well-to-do gentry, and
   government officials explored how to improve the Chinese
   race after the arrival of the stronger Western
   imperialist nations. Indeed, nationalism in its many
   forms remains an important force in eugenics today.
   Dikötter shows that it is the introduction of modern 
   science in China, particularly after World War I, that
   opened the real possibility of implementing the eugenic
   vision. It is in the republican era (1911-1948) that
   elites called for increased intervention of medical
   professionals and the state into the sexual lives of 
   citizens."

   "Government policy on inferior births also increased in 
   severity from the 1950s on, culminating in the 1995 
   eugenics law, giving rise to many technical and ethical 
   problems. A eugenics policy assumes that all handicaps 
   are irreversible and that education would have no effect.
   Furthermore, poor definitions of disorders, handicaps,
   illnesses, and fitness as well as local control of 
   implementation not only erode individual rights but also 
   increase corruption and bureaucratic incompetence. This 
   book shows us the greater problem in post-Mao China-
   eugenics has been legitimized by medical knowledge that 
   is ever-changing, not to mention packaged and 
   disseminated by those who have a vested interest in the 
   control of human reproduction."

http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hapr/summer00_tech/bookreview.ht...

   "A national survey on ethical and genetic issues of 402
   geneticists from 30 provinces and autonomous regions in
   China showed that 90% called for ethical guidelines for
   genetics practice and research; 89% supported current
   Chinese laws on abortion for genetic abnormalities and
   non-medical indications; more than half opposed sex
   selection by any means; 55% thought that gene donors
   should have a right to share in the profits from
   commercial tests or treatments developed with the use of
   their genes; and 50% thought that public education on
   genetics should be the top priority in the Chinese
   government health budget."

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-67...