Wife of China ‘s Top Forced Abortion Opponent Denied Medical Care

International   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Oct 31, 2007   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Wife of China ‘s Top Forced Abortion Opponent Denied Medical Care Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 31,
2007

Beijing, China (LifeNews.com) — Chinese authorities continue to keep the wife of a prominent activist against forced abortions under house arrest. Yuan Weijing, the wife of blind attorney Chen Guangcheng, jailed on bogus charges to prevent him from suing local family planning officials, remains under close surveillance from local authorities.

On Monday morning, officials in Linyi, China, prevented Yuan from leaving town to see a dentist.

Yuan was stopped at the bus station by the police who had been keeping her under surveillance, the group Human Rights in China told LifeNews.com in a statement.

"She had been trying to go see a dentist, but they physically held her back when she tried to walk away," the group said. "Yuan tried to call the police at 110 (China’s version of 911) many times, but got no answer."

The group said Yuan also called the County Procuratorate but was told that the matter was not their responsibility.

Later, Yuan called 110 again and was told that police from the Shuang Hou Township Police Station would come immediately. After Yuan waited over two hours, however, police had still not come.

HRC told LifeNews.com that Zhang Jianfu, the Communist party secretary of the local township government has given instructions that Yuan is not be allowed to see a doctor outside of Shuanghou Township where she lives.

Earlier this month, 34 members of Congress have signed onto a letter to President Hu of China asking him to release Chen from prison.

Chen has been jailed for months following an illegal trial which saw him convicted on trumped up charges and his attorneys detained.

Congressman Trent Franks, an Arizona Republican, orchestrated the letter to draw attention to China’s destructive family planning policy which allows families to have just one child.

“The right to life is the most essential of all human rights, and prosecuting Chen for peacefully defending this right reflects the low value the Chinese government places on human dignity," Franks told LifeNews.com in a press release.

"The inability for citizens such as Chen to dissent indicates the lack of respect for other essential freedoms in China as well," he said.

Chen was sentenced to four years and three months in prison in August 2006 on charges of “instigating others to obstruct traffic.”

A blind attorney, he was targeted by local officials in his home town of Linyi for exposing a brutal forced abortion and sterilization campaign that saw more than 10,000 people victimized.

Franks told LifeNews.com the jailing of Chen and numerous other human rights abuses make it so China is a poor choice to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, which attempt to foster worldwide unity and human dignity.