Chinese citizen and husband Xiangan Zhao describes how Chinese officials enforcing the one child policy beat him and his wife for missing an appointment:
“My wife, Xiaoyan Li, and I were living in Gongjadao Residents’ Committee, Zhichu Street, Zhiefu District, Yantari City, Shandong Province. We had all the legal certificates required by the “Regulations of Family-Planning for Floating Population.” At noon of August 6, 2009, we received a phone call from Airong Liu (head of the women’s Federation of Caoliu Village, Nanchan Town, Wenshang County, Shandong Province, which is the location of our registered residence). She informed us that we needed to report for pregnancy checkup.…
[They were a day late going to get the pregnancy check because they were travelling]
“She said “everyone is waiting for you. We’ll pull down your house if you don’t come.” Because we were late for one day and were not clear about what she meant, we hurried to the Family-Planning Office to report for the checkup. While my wife was receiving the checkup, I explained the reason for being late to Airong Liu politely. But she shouted at me: “What? Are you hoping that I will pay your travel expenses as well?”
At that time, an official with long hair and long face… came downstairs from the 2nd floor and said, “Beat him. He has so many excuses for being late.” Then he took the lead in beating me. Many people followed him and struck me down. They beat and kicked like storms. When I tried to stand up and run away by instinct, he commanded again, “Beat him with rubber sticks.” I was stricken down again and could not move this time. They dragged my arms and threw me in a dark room (the 2nd room on the east side of the door of the Family-Planning Office.)
Then he gave another command. “Go and beat his wife.” My wife had just finished the checkup at that time. He dragged her off the bed to hit her. He said, “This is for your coming late!” My wife said, “director Hu told me there was no need to come back for another checkup.” We never thought this statement would irritate him. He shouted: “You have a good reason for being late, don’t you? Take her in the room!” So the family-planning official dragged my wife into a dark room and beat her brutally. She gripped their legs and knelt down to beg. “I know I’m wrong. Please forgive me. Please forgive me…” They finally stopped hitting after she begged for a while. Her whole body was already covered with wounds then.
They checked the items we carried (they worried that we were taking cameras or other devices to record their brutal behavior) and detained us in the same room. They sealed the door and the window closely. One person guarded outside the door. Then I found there were already 8 or 9 people in the room. I felt sharp pain through my whole body. My wounds got more serious at about 2 o’clock in the afternoon and I difficulty breathing, so my wife asked the guard to allow me out for treatment. He reported to his superior and in the end they approved. They gave my cell phone back to me (it fell out of my pocket when I was beaten). I couldn’t walk and my wife was unable to bear me on her back, so she requested the Family-Planning Office to drive to the hospital, but they did not respond. My wife had to phone the police for help. She described our situation and location, but something surprising happened… After the Family-Planning Officials knew that we phoned the police, they grabbed my cell phone and detained us again. The police station was only about 100 m from the Family-Planning Office, but the policeman never came to help us.
Our family came to the Family-Planning Office 6 hours after we left home. They reported to the police again at the sight of our wounds. This time 2 policemen (they did not wear the police uniform) came and said: “it’s legal for the Family-Planning Officials to do this. It’s not our responsibility to deal with it!” Then the 2 policemen mediated with the Family-Planning Officials. In the end, the Family-Planning Officials sent us to the town People’s Hospital but left without paying a single cent of the medical fee.…
Since that time I have been left with sequelae [pathology resulting from trauma]. I have a partial loss of work ability and I cannot do heavy labor to this day.”
Woman’s rights Without Frontiers “China’s One Child Policy: New Evidence of Coercion, Forced Abortion, Sterilization, Contraception, and the Practice of “Implication September 22, 2001. Presented in “China’s One Child Policy: the Government’s Massive Crime against Women and Unborn Babies” Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, Committee of Foreign Affairs House Of Representatives 112th Congress, September 22, 2001
Try to imagine the way that these violent officials would have treated a woman who became pregnant and wanted to keep her baby. This kind of brutality occurs in China to this very day.
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