Chinese Activist Speaks Out About 130,000 Forced Abortions

by: Lance Devon

 "The respect of life among the common people is on the verge of extinction," says Chen Guangcheng, a blind Chinese activist who escaped China and moved to the United States. Now Chen speaks to Americans about the torturous population control system that the Chinese government has in place and the abusive tactics officials used to force compliance.

"If a family hasn't obtained a birth permit, whether it's their second child or their first one, the women are kidnapped and taken to a hospital where they are forced to have their babies killed," says Chen, talking about the family planning policy in China.

Chen's Investigation, Arrest, and Passion for Human Rights

Chen is a self-taught human rights lawyer who investigated and reported on the corruption of the Chinese government. In 2005 he researched the Chinese government's forced abortion family planning policy.

Chen's studies revolve around 130,000 cases of pregnant women, who were forced to have abortions. He also documented 600,000 accounts of abuse that family members, friends, and neighbors undertook for helping hide pregnant women.

When the government found out about Chen's research in 2005, they arrested him, abused him and his family, and imprisoned him for four years. After stealing from his family and harassing them, they placed Chen under house arrest for another two years. He escaped soon after, making it to a US embassy. Now he lives in the United States, speaking out about the abuses to those who will listen.

"You literally have got to have permission from the government to have your own child," he said.

Chen testified before Congress, providing the subcommittee of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs with a list of "corrupt officials" in Communist China he said that were responsible for no fewer than 130,000 forced abortions in less than one year.

"The officials who are on this list have continuously, in the past, persecuted me and my family," said Chen as he held up the document. "These corrupt officials - they have this blood on their hands!"

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