Liu Ying
Ying is biological mother to both Mei and Ajun.
Over twenty years ago Ying travelled south from her village in Henan Province to Guangzhou, to work in the factories where she met her husband.
Their first child was a girl. As a result of China’s one child policy and with pressure from her in-laws to have a boy, Ying placed her daughter outside an orphanage in Guangzhou.
It broke her heart. She went on to have a son, Ajun, but years later her husband died and Ajun remained the only person left in Ying’s life.
Ying has never forgotten her daughter, but reaching out to her now is difficult for a woman so ashamed of giving her away.
At the bottom of Chinese society and with no connections, Ying finds herself in a futile battle against the authorities in her fight to free her innocent son. The arrival of her daughter, whilst overwhelming, also brings joy.
But most of all Mei allows Ying to do something she has hitherto not dared… To hope.
Mardy Ma
One Child is Mardy Ma’s first television appearance.
