In 1992, China held an "International Seminar on China's 1990 Population
Census," at which many foreign scholars and a group of Chinese scholars presented
papers on the "missing girl" problem seen in China's 1990 census and previous
enumerations and surveys. From these papers came the growing awareness that the dearth
of girls in cohorts of children was not just a Chinese problem, but was an increasing
phenomenon in other countries of East Asia, such as South Korea, and in some South
Asian countries. Therefore, Chinese and foreign scholars proposed that the United
Nations sponsor an Asia-wide symposium on the ever-worsening imbalance between the
numbers of boys and girls, and the causes and possible solutions to this perceived
problem. After some location problems and postponement until after "The International
Conference on Population and Development" (Cairo, September 1994), the "International
Symposium on Issues Related to Sex Preference for Children in the Rapidly Changing
Demographic Dynamics in Asia" was held in Seoul, South Korea, in November 1994. It
was sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund and the Government of the
Republic of Korea, and hosted by the Korean Institute of Health and Social Affairs
(KIHASA).
The sponsors invited scholars and a few officials from the following countries and
regions: South Korea, Mainland China, Taiwan, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Thailand, and Indonesia. A paper from Vietnam was later added.