Why would the Chinese government
today ban footbinding?

Foot-binding was a practice first carried out on young girls in Tang Dynasty China to restrict their normal growth, and make their feet as small as possible. Considered an attractive quality, the effects of the process were painful and permanent.
In the 19th century, many reform-minded Chinese intellectuals began to consider foot binding as a backwardness of China and advocated to abolish the practice. However, any movements to oppose it failed. It was not until 1912 that foot binding was banned by the new Republic of China government.