Chen on Population Control Abuses

Chen on Population Control Abuses

Chen Guancheng, Population policy, Abortion, Contraception, Family, Linyi, China

Linyi, a city of 10 million which includes 3 districts and 9 counties, initiated a widespread campaign of population control in 2004. It was reported by residents, according to Chen's biography, that the government practices were involved with beating, holding hostage, detention, forced abortion and compulsory sterilization. Some were forced to take classes and pay fees. These abuses ended only in the early of 2005, but with deaths and broken families as a result.

Chen, together with his wife Yuan Weijing, started investigations in April 2005 when they learned of the situation. In an article by Philip Pan for the Washington Post Service dated August 27, 2005, Chen narrated that "he couldn't see the tears of women forced to terminate pregnancies 7 or 8 months along, or the blank stares of the men who said they submitted to vasectomies to save family members from torture. But he could hear the pain and anger in their voices and said he was determined to do something about it."

Furthermore, in the same article by Pan, he said "Linyi case marks a legal milestone in challenging the coercive measures used for decades to limit population growth." While there have been scattered cases of individuals suing family planning officials, legal scholars say that the Linyi farmers appear to be the first to band together and challenge the states' power to compel people to undergo sterilization or abort a pregnancy since the enactment of a 2002 law guaranteeing citizens an "informed choice" in such matters.

In another article by Michael Sheridan for The Sunday Times dated September 18, 2005, proves the legitimacy of Chen and Yuan's works. To quote, "the stories collected by Chen are so disturbing that even Chinese officials in Beijing have called them "serious human rights violations."

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