As a westerner, I’ve never thought of a national family planning policy as a necessity.  Where I come from, it is unthinkable, even in the most crowded parts of the country. 
    作为西方人，我从没想到国家计划生育政策是必要的。在老家，连在最拥挤的地区也是无法想像的。

    Before I came to China the only information I got about China’s one child policy came through western reports about related human rights abuses.  The abuses I’m speaking of are not related to the policy itself but the implementation of the policy. 
    到中国之前，我对中国计划生育政策的理解只是凭借西方媒体对有关侵犯人权的报道。我所说的侵犯跟政策没有关系，而跟如何实施政策有关。

    For those not familiar with this kind of news coverage, it can easily be found on Google.  Just type “China forced abortion” or “China forced sterilization” and you will find reports by many well known news media.   They usually explain the pressure local cadres are under to keep population figures down in their area as the main reason.
    如果对这种新闻报道不熟悉，挺容易在谷歌找到，只要打”China forced abortion”或者“China forced sterilization”，可以找到不少著名外文媒体的报道。报道通常解释到，当地官员受到控制本地人口压力为主要原因。

    This is how most westerners learn about the one child policy, which is much like how Chinese learn about America’s gun laws.  People only learn about it when there is negative and often grossly tragic news, but the context often prevents much understanding of the complexity of the issue.
    这是大多数西方人对中国计划生育最初接触的方式，我认为这跟中国人接触到美国枪支拥有法差不多。只有发生格外悲剧的新闻，人们才知道。但基于此的认识对问题的复杂性常常阻止更好的理解。

    The reason I translated the article “Allowing a second child is an urgent priority” is because it provides a deeper analysis of the situation  than what I normally read and it shows that there is a rational and healthy discussion going on in Chinese media about issues of importance.  I simply hope more foreigners will read this.
    我把《放开二胎刻不容缓》翻译成英文的原因是，那篇文章的分析比我通常读的报道更深刻，而且可以看出来对于一些重要话题，在一些中国媒体当中有理性、建设性的讨论。我就希望更多外国人能够读到这篇文章。

    If the policy is changed, I hope the pressure on cadres will change too.  Of course, this won’t do anything to help those who are no longer able to have children but still want them, nor will it bring back the children aborted without the parents’ consent.     如果政策终于调整的话，我希望当地官员的压力也会减轻。当然，这不能帮助那些被剥夺了生育能力却渴望再生孩子的夫妻，也不能带回那些被勉强流产的孩子。

    My biggest hope though is that these people will not be forgotten.
    我最大希望就是这些人不被忘记。