'Chen Guangcheng:

Exposing China's Brutal Population Control Tactics'


China is the only country in the world where it is illegal to have a brother or sister.

For more then 27 years, China has brutally enforced its compulsory "one child policy." This vicious means of population control is also a perpetual source of contention between China and its Western allies.

During diplomatic meetings and trade talks, China minimizes or denies forced sterilizations and forced abortions.

In 2005 a young blind activist highlighted the gravity of the situation to the world, refusing to let China deny it any longer.

Chen Guangcheng, affectionately called the blind "barefoot lawyer" by local villagers, is one of the great human rights activists in China.

Time magazine named him one of their "TIME 100: People who shape our world", a Canadian news outlet listed him as a "newsmaker of the week" on December 11th, and to the countless women who were victimized by China's one child policy he is simply their hero, the blind "barefoot lawyer."

Chen became blind as a child after a prolonged illness. China does not look favorably upon children with birth defects or those who become crippled later in life, thus Chen struggled to get an education. After being denied admission at every state institution on account of his disabilities, he decided to teach himself law and became a "crusader for peasant's rights." "Someone has to fight for people with no voice," said Chen "I guess that person is me."

Chen's reputation led him to the Shandong province where he met hundreds of women who had been forced to have late term abortions or were forcibly sterilized. Enraged at the authorities "violent birth control practice and brutal abuses of women," Chen compiled evidence against them, recorded witness testimonies, and filed a class-action suit on behalf of these innocent victims.

Tertualian in the second century said, "The first reaction to truth is hatred." This was precisely the reaction of Chinese officials to Chen's very public declaration of the tactics being used in Shandong Province. Chen was immediately put on house arrest. Several months later he was formally arrested and imprisoned.

His first trial, in August 2005, was marred by false evidence, the kidnapping and torture of key witnesses, and the arrest of defense lawyers. The court found him guilty of the alleged crimes, "damaging property and disrupting traffic," and sentenced him to four years and three months in prison. Chen's lawyers appealed his case to the high court which over-turned the case in 2006 and sent it back to the lower court to be retried.

Many people, both local Chinese activists and international groups, were hopeful that this was a sign of a change within China. Unfortunately, the lower court merely upheld its initial verdict.

The judges announced on December 1, 2006, that Chen was guilty and sentenced him to serve his full four year, three month term.

Chen told the outside world from his detention cell, "I am still engaged in the rights campaign. Don't worry about me. Think of it as if I have embarked on a long journey. My resolve has not been shaken. I will never give up."

While the Chinese government is trying to forget Chen, the people of Shandong province have not. Neither should we.

A wise man once said, "Evil flourishes when good men do nothing."

No longer can we stand idly by while China continues to silence dissidents and oppress its citizens.