Beijing’s desire for more births is up against a more feminist nation

When several provinces in China announced plans to offer an extended mandatory maternity leave late last year, their target audience was less than pleased. Instead of embracing the new policy, many Chinese women expressed anger.

“Unequal leave days for child-raising for men and women, squeezing the space women have at work, what stage is this in The Handmaid’s Tale?” asked one woman on Chinese social media platform Douban, referring to the book and US TV show that tells the fate of women who live in a totalitarian society in which their designated role...