Photo source: Wikimedia

I just read this on the wires and had to do a double take:

Mao Offered US 10 Million Women
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Amid a discussion of trade in 1973, Chinese leader Mao Zedong made what U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger called a novel proposition: sending tens of thousands, even 10 million, Chinese women to the United States. [...]

"You know, China is a very poor country," Mao said, according to a document released by the State Department's historian office. "We don't have much. What we have in excess is women. So if you want them we can give a few of those to you, some tens of thousands."

A few minutes later, Mao circled back to the offer. "Do you want our Chinese women?" he asked. "We can give you 10 million."

After Kissinger noted Mao was "improving his offer," the chairman said, "We have too many women. ... They give birth to children and our children are too many."

"It is such a novel proposition," Kissinger replied in his discussion with Mao in Beijing. "We will have to study it."

That conversation happened in 1973, yet in 2007 a study found that the push for gender selection of Chinese babies, compounded with the forced policy of "one family, one child", has nowadays created the worst "gender crisis" in the world:

Crisis looms as 18 million Chinese can't find a wife.
China is planning to tighten punishments for sex-selective abortions amid concerns that its widening gender imbalance will lead to wife trafficking, sexual crimes and social frustration.

Shocking new figures released by the state media show that the worst affected city, Lianyungang in Jiangsu province, has a ratio of 165 boys to 100 girls among children aged one to four.

Nationwide, six males are born for every five females, far above the international average. With the gap growing every year as a result of increased access to ultrasound sex-checking technology, one senior official warned that China faces the 'most serious gender imbalance in the world'.

I guess Chairman Mao's plans have backfired. Ironic given he comes from the country that gave us not only Taoism but the principles of Ying and Yang.