China’s One Child Policy: Family Planning Officials Fracture Skull of Father of Three

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

(Xinyi City, Jiangsu Province. May 18, 2013). More than 20 Family Planning Officials beat a farmer almost to death, because he and his wife have three children, according to a report by ChinaAid.

Zhang Futao has suffered severe head injuries and is in critical condition from the beating, which occurred on Wednesday, May 15. According to the family, he has a fractured skull and a brain hemorrhage. His three children are ages 12, 6 and 4.

Reggie Littlejohn, president of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, stated, “We condemn this egregious, state-sponsored violence against an innocent citizen, whose only ‘crime’ is having more than one child. Why was this man suddenly attacked, four years after the birth of his third child? We demand that the family planning attackers be brought to justice, that Mr. Zhang’s full medical expenses be covered, and that his family be compensated.”

Littlejohn continued, “This attack also serves as a reminder that men as well as women suffer as a result of violence in the name of population control. On March 21, 2011, Family Planning Officials stabbed a young man to death while he was trying to protect his father from a beating. The Officials had entered the home to seize the man’s sister for a forced sterilization. The spirit of the Red Guard lives on in China’s population control machine. Family Planning Officials are above the law and function as domestic terrorists.”
http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=147

Read the original report here.
http://www.chinaaid.org/2013/05/family-planning-officials-in-jiangsu.html

Posted in One Child Policy, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Reggie Littlejohn and Bi-Partisan Members of the United States Congress Stand Against Gendercide on Capitol Hill, Screen “It’s a Girl” Film

Posted on May 6, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Reggie Littlejohn condemns gendercide at the U.S. Capitol Hill screening of the "It's a Girl" film

Washington, D.C. Women’s Rights Without Frontiers partnered with Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ), Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA), Congressman Mark Meadows (R-NC), and the Coalition Against Gendercide in a bipartisan screening of the “It’s a Girl” film at the United States Capitol Visitors Center, in conjunction with the Tom Lantos Commission on Human Rights. Shot on location in India and China, “It’s a Girl” exposes the fact that there are up to 200 million women missing in the world today due to gendercide.

Reggie Littlejohn emphasized the connection between gendercide and forced abortion:

“Forced abortion is not a choice. More often than not, gendercide is not a choice either. There is a strong correlation between sex-selective abortion and coercion. Crushing social, economic, political and personal pressures in cultures with a strong son preference trample women carrying girls. All too often, women in these cultures do not “select” their daughters for abortion. They are forced.”

Littlejohn also highlighted the hope offered by WRWF’s “Save a Girl” Campaign in rural China: “We are stopping gendercide, one baby girl at a time. We have field workers in China who reach out to women who have had an ultrasound, learned that they are pregnant with a girl, and are planning to abort or abandon her. A field worker will visit that woman and say, ‘Don’t abort your baby just because she’s a girl. She’s a precious daughter. We will give you a monthly stipend for a year, to help you support her.’ The practical support we offer empowers these women to keep their daughters.”

WRWF’s “Save a Girl” is the official “It’s a Girl” film’s action campaign for China.

Learn more about the Save a Girl Campaign here:

http://womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=end-gendercide-and-forced-abortion

Cong. Chris Smith states that gendercide is a "crime against women" at the U.S. Capitol Hill screening of "It's a Girl"

Rep. Chris Smith stated, “Gendercide is a crime against women, a gender crime that has no parallel or precedent in all of human history.” Rep. Smith has held dozens of Congressional hearings on Chinese human rights, particularly forced abortion under the One Child Policy.

Rep. Moran continued, “To the extent that we stand by the sidelines and don’t do anything about [gendercide] makes us culpable as well.”

“We talk about wanting to find more common ground in Washington DC,” added Rep. Meadows. “And this is an issue where Democrats and Republicans can absolutely agree. Gendercide must be stopped.”

Littlejohn and the “It’s a Girl” filmmakers also collaborated in screening the film around the world, including the British Parliament, the European Parliament and the United Nations.

Donate to the “Save a Girl” campaign:

http://womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=give

Sign a petition against forced abortion in China:

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=sign_our_petition

Learn more about the “It’s a Girl” film and watch the 3-minute trailer:

http://www.itsagirlmovie.com/


Posted in Chris Smith, Forced Abortion, gendercide, Reggie Littlejohn, Save a Girl, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Reggie Littlejohn and Bi-Partisan Members of the United States Congress Stand Against Gendercide on Capitol Hill, Screen “It’s a Girl” Film

Chinese Embassy Refuses Petition Against Forced Abortion, Gendercide in China

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Littlejohn, with Rep. Chris Smith (R.) and Evan Grae Davis, Director of the "It's a Girl" film, in front of the Chinese Embassy, holding 200,000 signatures on the petition against gendercide and forced abortion in China

Washington, D.C. Women’s Rights Without Frontiers president Reggie Littlejohn and Rep. Chris Smith led a delegation from Capitol Hill to the Chinese Embassy to deliver 200,000 signatures on a petition to end gendercide and forced abortion in China. Though Rep. Smith and Littlejohn tried repeatedly to gain access to the Embassy to deliver the petition signatures, the Embassy refused to grant access.

Littlejohn stated, “These signatures are from 200,000 people from more than 70 countries. They represent a widespread, international outcry against forced abortion and gendercide in China. Through the dark glass and barred windows of the Embassy, I could see someone walking inside. They would not answer the door to let us in, though we rang the bell repeatedly. This refusal is symbolic of the way that the Chinese Communist Party turns a deaf ear to all those who criticize its human rights record. They may refuse to accept our petition, but they will not silence us. We will continue to raise our voices on behalf of the hundreds of millions women who have been forcibly aborted, up to the ninth month of pregnancy, and the girls who are being selectively aborted, just because they are girls. These practices constitute a crime against humanity and they must be stopped.”

Rep. Smith, a tireless advocate for Chinese human rights, stated, “Just last Friday, the U.S. State Department China 2012 Human Rights Report stated that the rate of female suicide in China has increased from 500 to 590 per day. The report noted that three times the number of women as men commit suicide in China. Two of the factors cited include ‘the traditional preference for male children, [and] birth limitation policies.’ This is the true War Against Women.”

The petition signatures were gathered by the “It’s a Girl” film documenting gendercide in India and China, in collaboration with Women’s Rights Without Frontiers.

Sign a petition against forced abortion in China:

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=sign_our_petition

Stop Forced Abortion – China’s War on Women! Video (4 mins)

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/?nav=stop-forced-abortion

Posted in Chris Smith, Evan Grae Davis, Forced Abortion, gendercide, It's a Girl, Reggie Littlejohn, Women's Rights Without Frontiers | 1 Comment

Reggie Littlejohn at Capitol Hill Press Conference Speaks on Why a Two-Child Policy Will Not End the Injustice of the One Child Policy: CNS News Video

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Reggie Littlejohn at a Capitol Hill press conference, with boxes containing 200,000 signatures on the petition to end forced abortion and gendercide in China

On Wednesday, Reggie Littlejohn and Rep. Chris Smith spoke at a press conference on the U.S. Capitol, as part of the Coalition Against Gendercide.  Here is a CNS News Clip of Reggie’s warning that instituting a Two Child Policy will not resolve the tragic suffering brought about by the One Child Policy.

http://cnsnews.com/video/national/reggie-littlejohn-president-womens-rights-without-frontiers

In addition to Reggie Littlejohn and Rep. Smith, speakers at the press conference included Coalition Against Gendercide members Sam Casey of the Jubilee Campaign, Sarah Torre of The Heritage Foundation and Alison Howard of Concerned Women of America.

Posted in China, Forced Abortion, gendercide, One Child Policy, two child policy, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Reggie Littlejohn at Capitol Hill Press Conference Speaks on Why a Two-Child Policy Will Not End the Injustice of the One Child Policy: CNS News Video

China: Blind Activist Chen Guangcheng’s Relatives Receive Death Threats

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Chen Kegui, File Photo

Dongshigu Village, Shandong Province. In late April 2012, blind activist Chen Guangcheng dazzled the world by scaling the back wall of his compound and eluding the frustrated grasp of the Chinese Communist security machine. As though to punish him on the anniversary of his escape, Chen’s relatives in Dongshigu Village are being seriously harassed and subjected to death threats.

Chen Guangcheng spent years in jail, then under severe house arrest, after he exposed the widespread, systematic use of forced abortion and involuntary sterilization in Linyi City, Shandong Province, in 2005.

According to reports by Yaxue Cao of “Seeing Red in China” and by Chinese Human Rights Defenders, harassment of Chen’s relatives has intensified greatly in the past several weeks. Chen’s older brother, Chen Guangfu, has reported that his home has been pelted with stones, breaking windows and damaging the roof. Also, dead chickens and ducks have been thrown onto his property, together with fake money that is burned for the dead. According to the CHRD, “[t]his is a curse and a threat used by the local villagers; it means death and conveys the idea that killing the person is as easy as killing a chicken or a duck.” Flyers have been posted around Dongshigu Village denouncing Chen Guangcheng and Chen Guangfu.

Wednesday afternoon, authorities detained Chen Guangfu’s wife, allegedly for “hiding and sheltering a criminal.” This “criminal” would be her son, Chen Kegui. On April 26, 2012, after discovering that Chen Guangcheng was missing, authorities burst into the home of Chen Guangfu, dragged him away, and beat his wife and son, Chen Kegui. Fearing for his life, Kegui grabbed a kitchen knife to defend himself. According to Congressional testimony of Chen Guangcheng, these officials did not sustain any major injuries. Nevertheless, Kegui was charged with attempted murder. He was later convicted of “intentional injury” and sentenced to three years and three months in prison.

Reggie Littlejohn, President of Women’s rights Without Frontiers, stated, “We condemn the persecution of the relatives of Chen Guangcheng by Chinese Communist thugs. This harassment is clearly designed to silence him as one of the leading voices in the world to expose the brutality of this regime. The Chinese government will even stoop to detain without food or water a 10-year-old child in an attempt to silence her activist father, as in the case of Zhang Anni, earlier this month. We urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to stop the harassment of Chen Guangcheng’s relatives in Dongshigu Village. We call upon President Obama and Secretary Kerry to urgently intervene on behalf of Chen Guangcheng’s relatives in China.”

Related links:
Chen Guangcheng’s Family Under Intense Harassment Lately
http://seeingredinchina.com/2013/04/24/chen-guangchengs-family-under-intense-harassment-lately/

Chinese Human Rights Defenders Report on Recent Harassment of Chen’s Relatives
http://wqw2010.blogspot.com/2013/04/blog-post_9728.html

Translation of the CHRD Report
http://www.chinaaid.org/2013/04/chinese-human-rights-defenders-reports.html

Congressional Testimony of Chen Guangcheng, April 9, 201
http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/hearing/subcommittee-hearing-chen-guangcheng-and-gao-zhisheng-human-rights-china

China: Ten-Year-Old Girl Detained, Denied Food and Water
http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=1036

Chen Kegui, File Photo

Posted in Chen Guangcheng, chen guangfu, Chen Kegui, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, Seeing Red in China, Uncategorized, Yaxue Cao | 1 Comment

WRWF’s Reggie Littlejohn Partners in Screening of “It’s a Girl” Documentary on Gendercide in India and China

Posted on April 23, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Reggie Littlejohn at the U.S. Capitol

Women’s Rights Without Frontiers is partnering with Rep. Chris Smith and Rep. Jim McDermott in a bipartisan screening of the “It’s a Girl” documentary about gendercide in India and China. Below is the text of her remarks, to be delivered today at 5:30 p.m. at the United States Capitol Visitors Center.

Thank you, Rep. Smith, Rep. McDermott and distinguished guests. It is truly an honor to be given this opportunity to address one of the great human rights issues of our age: violence against women in the form of systematic, widespread sex-selective abortion.

According to one U.N estimate, there are up to 200 million women missing in the world today due to gendercide.

Forced abortion is not a choice. More often than not, gendercide is not a choice either. There is a strong correlation between sex-selective abortion and coercion. Crushing social, economic, political and personal pressures in cultures with a strong son preference trample women carrying girls. All too often, women in these cultures do not “select” their daughters for abortion. They are forced.

In China, the birth ratio of girls to boys is the most skewed in the world: approximately 100 girls born for every 119 boys. Sons traditionally carry on the family name, work the fields, and take care of their parents in old age. A daughter joins her husband’s family at marriage. There is a saying: “Raising a girl is like watering someone else’s garden.” The One Child Policy exacerbates the underlying son preference. When couples are restricted to one child, women often become the focus of intense pressure by their husband and in-laws to ensure a boy.

A woman need not be dragged out of her home and strapped down to a table to be a victim of forced abortion. Persistent emotional pressure, estrangement from the extended family, threat of abandonment or divorce, verbal abuse, and domestic violence often overpower women who otherwise would choose to keep their daughters.

Systematic, sex-selective abortion constitutes gendercide. Because of this gendercide, there are an estimated 37 million more men than women in China today. The presence of these “excess males” is the driving force behind human trafficking and sexual slavery, not only within China but from surrounding nations as well.

Finally, China has the highest female suicide rate of any country in the world. According to the U.S. State Department China Human Rights Report released last Friday, the numbers of female suicide have risen sharply in the past several years, from 500 women per day to 590.

It is a woman’s right to choose to give birth to her daughters. Together, China and India comprise one third of the world’s population. That one-third of the world’s women are deprived of their right to bear girls is the biggest women’s rights abuse on earth. This is the true War on Women, and it deserves a passionate response from groups that stand for women’s rights.

Fortunately, there is hope. Women’s Rights Without Frontiers has launched the “Save a Girl” Campaign in rural China, and we are stopping gendercide, one baby girl at a time. We have field workers in China who reach out to women who have had an ultrasound, learned that they are pregnant with a girl, and are planning to abort or abandon her. A field worker will visit that woman and say, “Don’t abort your baby just because she’s a girl. She’s a precious daughter. We will give you a monthly stipend for a year, to help you support her.”

The practical support we offer empowers these women to keep their daughters. By the time the girl is three months old, she’s laughing and smiling and the whole family is in love with her. They can’t imagine life without her and thank us for saving the life of their daughter. This is what gets me out of bed in the morning – knowing that there are babies in China who are alive today because of our efforts. It’s astonishing how little money it takes to save someone’s life in China.

This is the official “It’s a Girl” film’s action campaign for China. We would like to expand this campaign. Every struggling mother in China deserves help to keep her daughter. Together, we can end gendercide and sweep sex-selective abortion into the dung-heap of history, where it belongs.

Learn more about the Save a Girl Campaign here:

http://womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=end-gendercide-and-forced-abortion

Posted in China, China's One Child Policy, coerced abortion, female suicide, Forced Abortion, forced sterilization, gendercide, It's a Girl, One Child Policy, pro-choice, pro-life, Reggie Littlejohn, Save a Girl, Uncategorized, women's rights, Women's Rights Without Frontiers | Comments Off on WRWF’s Reggie Littlejohn Partners in Screening of “It’s a Girl” Documentary on Gendercide in India and China

China: Ten-Year-Old Girl Detained, Denied Food and Water

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Zhang Anni

HEFEI CITY, ANHUI PROVINCE. February 27, 2013 began like any other school day for ten-year-old Zhang Anni. Little did she know that this day she would be ordered to the principal’s office, whisked away by four unidentified men, and detained without food or water, and without knowing where her father was, for 20 hours. Anni’s crime? Her father, activist Zhang Lin, had exposed government corruption.

I had the rare privilege of speaking directly with Anni and her father on a national internet radio program broadcast throughout China this evening. Their story filled me with indignation. Anni has still not been allowed to return to school. No legitimate government would detain, starve and deny education to a ten-year-old.

According to her father, their case has sparked national outrage in China. 500 people have dropped their jobs and traveled to demonstrate outside Anni’s former school, the Hupo Elementary School in Heifei. Some protesters are hunger striking. Zhang says he is deeply touched by the love and sacrifice of these supporters.

Those demonstrating are showing not only love for Zhang and Anni, but also the awakening of an increasingly bold contempt for the Chinese Communist Party’s brutal persecution of the children of dissidents. Such persecution is routine in China. Blind activist Chen Guangcheng’s son had to move away from his parents in order to go to school. His daughter was only allowed to go to school after intense domestic and international pressure was applied. Now, the Chinese Communist Party has detained and tortured Chen Guangcheng’s nephew, Chen Kegui.

I believe that the Chinese Communist Party persecutes, detains and tortures the families of dissidents in an attempt to silence them. The CCP will commit serious human rights violations against children to stifle freedom of speech. This is state-sponsored child abuse.

Activist Zhang Lin participated in the 1989 democracy protests in Anhui Province. A prolific dissident writer, he has been jailed multiple times and subjected to continuous monitoring, according to an HRIC report.

Meanwhile, Anni was fearless and articulate in speaking with me on national radio. Her father commented, “Anni is strong. She’s been dealing with the police since she was two years old. She knows how to handle them.”

What an extraordinary girl. It was an honor to speak with her. I told her, “Be brave, be true, be humble, and one day you will help lead your people to freedom.”

With 1.3 billion people living in China — one fifth of the population on earth — the world will not be free until the people of China are free.

Posted in Chen Guangcheng, Chen Kegui, China, human dignity, Human Rights, Reggie Littlejohn, Uncategorized, Women's Rights Without Frontiers, Zhang Anni, Zhang Lin | Tagged | Comments Off on China: Ten-Year-Old Girl Detained, Denied Food and Water

China: Woman Dies After Forced Sterilization

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

Dabancheng Village, Hubei Province. A mother of two died after a forced sterilization, which took place against a doctor’s orders, Women’s Rights in China reports.

On March 19, a doctor at Tongshan County warned that sterilizing Shen Hongxia would be life-threatening. Nevertheless, local Family Planning Officers forcibly sterilized her, in order to avoid an “illegal pregnancy.” Shen Hongxia, 42, died, leaving behind her husband and two children, one of whom is two years old.

The Family Planning Bureau and the Village Committee attempted to cover up their criminal responsibility by making an agreement to compensate the family by installments, and to build them a house. Family members felt forced to sign the agreement, as they saw no other way to seek relief.

Reggie Littlejohn, President of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, stated, “Women’s Rights Without Frontiers strongly condemns forced sterilization and all coercive family planning in China. The fact that Shen Hongxia’s doctor had clearly warned that sterilizing her could kill her makes her death the responsibility of the Family Planning Officers who forced this violent surgery upon her. Compensating her family with money is not enough. Those responsible for her death should face serious criminal charges.”

This is the second death related to forced sterilization in March alone. In the other case, a woman who had been forcibly sterilized twice was found hanging in her local Family Planning Office, under suspicious circumstances. [Warning, Graphic photo]  http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=986

Littlejohn stated, “The Chinese Communist Party recently admitted to performing 196 million sterilizations. These sterilizations too often leave women butchered and maimed, and can at times be deadly. I first learned of the brutality of China’s One Child Policy by representing a woman who had been forcibly sterilized. Family Planning Officials literally dragged her out of her home kicking and screaming, held her down to a table and cut her open with no anesthesia. She said it felt like someone was burning her insides with a blowtorch. Since then she has lived in chronic pain. We need to fight forced sterilization as much as forced abortion in China.”

Sign a petition against coercive family planning here:

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=sign_our_petition

Watch a powerful, 4-minute video about forced abortion in China here:

Stop Forced Abortion – China’s War on Women!

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/?nav=stop-forced-abortion

WRIC seeks to connect the family of Shen Hongxia with lawyers. Read their original report here. http://www.wrchina.org/archives/416

Posted in China, China's One Child Policy, crime against humanity, forced sterilization, gendercide, One Child Policy, pro-choice, pro-life, Shen Hongxia, Uncategorized, Women's Rights in China | 1 Comment

China: Woman’s Death by Hanging at Family Planning Office – Suicide or Something Else? [WARNING – GRAPHIC PHOTO]

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

BEIZHANGLOU VILLAGE, HENAN PROVINCE.  Earlier this month, it was reported widely in Chinese media sources that Yang Yuzhi hung herself in the Family Planning Office of Beizhanglou Village, Taikang County, Henan Province.  Forcibly sterilized twice, she had for years suffered chronic pain from these traumatic procedures.  Her medication drained the family finances, so she regularly petitioned the Family Planning Office for compensation, to no avail.

On March 13, according to her family, Yang was emotionally stable.  There was nothing unusual, no reason to believe that she was at risk of suicide.  On this day, she went as usual to press her petition at the Family Planning Office.  Her family had no idea that she would never return.

Late that day, the Family Planning Commission told Yang’s family that she had committed suicide, and that they “found her body hanging at the top of the stairs.”  She also appears to have been severely beaten.  Her dead body was covered with bruises, and her neck was nearly severed by the wire rope from which she was hanging. Read the full story here:  http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=969

The explanation given by the Family Planning Office raises more questions than it answers.  What was Yang doing at the top of the stairs in the Family Planning Office, for an extended period of time, by herself?  Was she free to wander unsupervised around the Family Planning Office, with enough time to find a wire rope, attach it securely to the ceiling or another fixture, create a noose and hang herself – all this in a state of weakness and pain caused by the beatings?  Why did no one discover that Yang was in the process of hanging herself at the top of the stairs (not in a hidden closet) and stop her?

These unanswered questions raise the issue:  Was this truly a suicide?  Or did the Family Planning Officials torture Yang, then hang her to make it look like a suicide?  Women’s Rights Without Frontiers demands an investigation.

This would not be the first time the Chinese Communist Party has been suspected of attempting to cover up a murder as “suicide.”  In July 2012, well-known Tiananmen Square activist Li Wangyang was found dead, hanging in a hospital room.  His friends called official claims that he had committed suicide “insulting” and “ridiculous,” according to a CNN report.  Like Yang, Li was in “good spirits” the day he was found dead.

Moreover, while the world rightly stares in horror at late-term forced abortion, the death of Yang Yuzhi demonstrates the urgency of stopping forced sterilization as well.  Lost in the headlines about the Chinese Communist Party’s recent admission that they have performed 336 million abortions under the One Child Policy is the fact that they also admitted to performing 196 million sterilizations. These sterilizations too often leave women butchered and maimed.

Forced sterilizations are routine.  In April 2010, the Population and Family Planning Bureau detained 1,300 people in a campaign to sterilize more than 9,500 people, mostly women, in the Puning City, Guangdong Province.  Those who resisted were detained, along with other family members, such as elderly grandparents.

Yang’s death also emphasizes the absence of the rule of law in China.  She died while petitioning for justice.  Family Planning Officials commonly regard themselves as being above the law.  Rarely are they held to account for the many injustices they commit.

The death of Yang Yuzhi, if truly a suicide, also draws the connection between coercive family planning and the fact that China has the highest female suicide rate in the world. It has been reported that 500 women a day end their lives in China.

Take a stand against forced abortion and involuntary sterilization.   Sign the petition here:

Petition to Stop Forced Abortion

http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=sign_our_petition

Related Links

China’s One Child Policy Responsible for 336M Abortions, 196M Sterilizations 3/22/13
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/03/22/China-one-child-policy

China’s Forced Sterilization Campaign is a Crime Against Humanity 5/4/2010
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/opinion/chinas-forced-sterilization-campaign-is-a-crime-against-humanity-34698.html

China – Father’s interview about baby crushed to death during One Child Policy enforcement confirms violent coercion 2/15/13
http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=938

China:  Family Planning Official Stabs Man to Death 4/5/11
http://www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=147

Anger, suspicion over Chinese activist’s ‘suicide’ 6/8/12
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/07/world/asia/china-li-wangyang-death

Posted in China's One Child Policy, coerced abortion, female suicide, forced sterilization, gendercide, Li Wangyang, One Child Policy, war on women, Yang Yuzhi | 2 Comments

Chinese Woman Commits Suicide in Family Planning Office [WARNING – GRAPHIC PHOTO]

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Reggie Littlejohn

What follows is the translation of a news story originally published in Chinese.  The links to the original sources are below.

At noon on March 13th, 2013, a woman surnamed Yang was found dead, hanging inside the local Family planning office in Beizhanglou Village, Taikang County, Henan Province.  According to family members, her body was covered with scars, indicating she may have been beaten before death.

Yang Yuzhi, 42 years old, was sterilized in 1995, but the first operation failed.  She was then dragged and forced to undergo a second surgery by local Family Planning Commission.

Since this operation, Yang has suffered chronic pain.  She has needed regular doses of medication over the next years, imposing a financial burden.

Yang thought all the pain was caused by the surgeries, so she frequently petitioned the Family Planning Commission, but to no avail.

As usual, around 12 noon on March 13, 2013, Yang went to Taikang County Family Planning Commission again.

Zhao Zhang, Yang’s son said: “At about 12:57, my father gave her a call and that was normal, but then someone from the Family Planning Commission told us, when an officer was discussing the case with the village mayor, a [Family Planning] staff member found her body hanging at the top of the stairs.

“About 2:00, they secretly used a 120 ambulance and moved her body to the morgue room of the County Hospital, but didn’t notify us.”

Yang’s family was not informed of the situation until after 5:00 p.m.

When they arrived on scene, they found that she has died at noon inside the family planning office. They found Yang’s body covered with scars, beaten black and blue.  There is a deep wound around her neck and her entire neck was almost strangled. She had left home with several thousand yuan, but the money could not be found.

Yang leaves behind four children and her elderly, sick parents.

According to her family, she was emotionally normal before she went to the Family Planning Office. There was nothing unusual.  They did not expect that she would never return.

How did Yang get the wire rope, where did she commit suicide, where is the money [she was carrying], and why didn’t the Family Planning Commission inform the family right away? The local officials did not give any explanation to the family.

At 3:00 p.m. on March 18th, the door of the Family Planning Commission was closed.  The whole building was empty.

The original Chinese sources of this story can be found here:

Dahe Health Net

http://health.dahe.cn/jkhb/jkhbsy/201303/t20130322_465553.html#0-tsina-1-67848-397232819ff9a47a7b7e80a40613cfe1

NetEase Forum:

http://bbs.news.163.com/bbs/country/303326692.html

Posted in China's One Child Policy, forced sterilization, reproductive health, reproductive rights, right to choose, Uncategorized | 1 Comment