Hero Against 1 Child Policy May be Dead

We are all aware of the One Child
Policy that is enforced in China; however, many people don’t know of a man and
wife who have for years now stood up in defense of the men, women, and children
who have been affected by China’s One Child policy – which has resulted in
millions of forced abortions. There are countless stories I could share with
you of women who have been brutally forced to abort child after child when they
became pregnant after their first child. Yet, what I have to tell you today
isn’t about these women who are forced to abort, but about one courageous
person who stood for human rights even when Chinese officials attacked him.

Rumor has it that notorious
forced abortion and sterilization opponent Chen Guangcheng is dead. This would
be at the hands of the Chinese officials who have kept he and his wife under
house arrest for almost a year now. The same man who he and his wife were
brutally assaulted and kept isolated with no contact to the outside world for
some time.

It has not yet been confirmed
that Chen is dead, but information has come out that this man may already be
dead since friends tried to visit him earlier this week. Radio Free Asia
reports that Chinese authorities have detained nine human rights activists who tried
to visit with Chen Guangcheng. Some of these nine activists were also cut off
from communicating similarly to Chen and his wife earlier this year. Reports
have been made that authorities were shooting at these nine activists while
they attempted to visit Chen. Voice of America has reported that villagers were
saying, “Chen is dead already.” Further investigation is being made
to verify whether or not Chen is dead; and if he is not, organizations are
standing up to demand he and his families’ release.

Reggie Littlejohn, President of
Women’s Rights Without Frontiers has said the following:

“We are alarmed at the
report that villagers are saying that Chen is already dead,”

“If Chen is dead, then the
Chinese Communist Party is fully responsible for killing him through torture,
denial of medical treatment and slow starvation. If Chen is alive, we urgently
demand that he and his family be released immediately and unconditionally, for
medical evaluation and treatment.”

My thoughts go out to Chen, his
family, and all other heroes who have stood up against forced abortion and
sterilization in China. I hope that the defense of women and children continues
because we must stand up against the injustice of China’s One Child Policy.
Chen is a true hero who has loved by his actions to help others, despite severe
and at times harmful opposition.

Read the press release here.