Chen Guangcheng makes his first public appearance in the
United States; Reggie Littlejohn holds flowers to greet him.
May 19, 2012. Photo credit: Voice of America After enduring seven years of brutal persecution by the Chinese Communist Party, Chen Guangcheng stepped onto American soil on May 19, 2012. WRWF’s Reggie Littlejohn had led the international coalition to free him and flew to New York to greet him and his family upon their arrival. A week later, she gave the following address in honor of Chen Guangcheng at a Tiananmen Square Commemoration in Los Angeles:
Chen Guangcheng was one of the human rights giants of the twenty-first century, the Gandhi of China. Blinded by a childhood illness, Chen taught himself law and at first advocated for the rights of the disabled. The Chinese Communist Party ignored him until he began to advocate for the rights of women who were victims of the massive, systematic use of forced abortion and sterilization in his city – Linyi. Chen bravely filed a class action lawsuit on their behalf, and that’s when all hell broke loose for him and his family. It is fitting that we should honor him on the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. The same brutal regime that massacred students on Tiananmen Square also has brutalized Chen and his family for seven years. Here is the video that inspired so many to press for his freedom:
https://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/?nav=free-chen-guangcheng
Chen miraculously escaped from illegal house detention. Chen has no religious affiliation, yet he said, “God rescued me.”
I have been advocating for Chen’s release since 2008 – five times in the U.S. Congress, twice at the European Parliament, and at the British and Irish Parliaments as well. I have also briefed the White House, State Department and Vatican about Chen and One Child Policy issues.
Reggie responds to reporters at the Newark airport,
awaiting the arrival of Chen Guangcheng.
Credit: Hong Kong Reporter
Reggie Littlejohn testifies on behalf of Chen Guangcheng at
an emergency Congressional hearing on May 3, 2012
Women’s Rights Without Frontiers has been leading the international coalition to free Chen.
We released the Chen Guangcheng Report in Chinese on Chen's 40th birthday, and in English at a Congressional Hearing on December 6, 2011.
We collected more than 11,000 signatures on our Free Chen petition.
We also have 500 Free Chen Sunglasses Portraits from all over the world.
We sent two big packages of Christmas cards to Chen in December 2011.
When I flew to New York City one week ago today to welcome Chen to the United States, it was one of the most exciting moments of my life.
While Chen is free, his family and friends are not. For example:
- His nephew, Chen Kegui, is detained and has been accused of attempted murder.
- His brother, Chen Guangfu, was detained and tortured. He now seeks justice for his son, Chen Kegui.
- Lawyer Jian Tianyong has been beaten and detained because of his support of Chen.
China’s One Child Policy
Rep. Chris Smith and Reggie Littlejohn wear sunglasses
in honor of Chen Guangcheng after a Congressional hearing. Lost in the drama of Chen’s escape is the issue for which he risked everything: the abuse of women and families under China’s One Child Policy. Here is our video exposing the brutality of forced abortion:
Stop Forced Abortion – China’s War on Women! Video (4 mins)
Affecting 1.3 billion people, the coercive enforcement of China’s One Child Policy causes more violence against women and girls than any other official policy on earth and any other official policy in the history of the world.
- Forced abortion is traumatic to women. This can happen up to the ninth month of pregnancy. Some forced abortions are so violent that the women themselves die, along with their full term babies.
- Women who have violated the policy are often victims of forced sterilization, which can lead to life-long health complications. These forced abortions and forced sterilizations are often performed without anesthesia.
- A document leaked out of China in November 2009 discusses methods of infanticide, including the puncturing of the skulls and injecting alcohol into the brains of full term babies, usually girls, to kill them during labor.
- Because of the traditional preference for boys, sex-selective abortion of girls is common -- a form of “gendercide.” Women’s Rights Without Frontiers will be featured as the leading expert in a new feature-length documentary entitled “It’s a Girl,” about gendercide in India and China.
- Because of this gendercide, there are an estimated 37 million more men than women in China today. This gender imbalance is a major force driving sexual slavery of women and girls in Asia.
- China has the highest female suicide rate of any country in the world – approximately 500 women a day. I believe this high suicide rate is related to forced abortion.
The true spirit of the Chinese Communist Party is most clearly seen in the faces of the population control police as they drag women away, beat them, strap them down to tables, and force them to abort babies that they want, up to the ninth month of pregnancy. Blind, beaten, impoverished and imprisoned, Chen nevertheless possesses the surpassing backbone to stand alone against this repressive regime. He and his wife, Yuan Weijing, are true warriors for women’s rights, willing to shed their own blood for the women and families of China. When the One Child Policy ends, the name of Chen Guangcheng shall be forever credited with that great and hard-fought victory for women’s rights and freedom.
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Thank you from all of us at Women’s Rights Without Frontiers.
Reggie Littlejohn, President
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