Human rights groups are decrying a new full-scale campaign by family planning officials in China to force women to get IUDs or be sterilized against their will.
China Aid informs LifeNews today that a massive campaign is underway in a city in southern China, where all women of childbearing age are required to be fitted with IUDs or be sterilized, and similar campaigns have reportedly been launched in other provinces.
The group indicates that, on June 5, some netizens posted the notices that have been distributed throughout the city of Huizhou. The notices reveal that the large-scale joint government department campaign was a response to the “Circular on Further Improving the Launching, According to the Law, of Centralized Services for Population and Family Planning.”
The notices posted online show that, to reduce the number of births in Huizhou, the government was requiring women who already had a child to be fitted with an IUD, while those with two children had to undergo a tubal ligation. Those who complied within a certain time frame would receive a financial reward.
“Meanwhile, those who did not comply would not be issued certificates by the family planning departments when their children are to enroll in school, social security departments will not process applications for social security services, hospitals will not issue relevant certifications, and the local government will refuse to handle all related services for them,” ChinaAid said.
“Furthermore, when registering for a household registration in Huizhou for a newborn, the mother must first present a certificate that she has been fitted with an IUD,” the group added.
Meanwhile, Chinese residents say the campaign is coming about because Huizhou’s performance record in family planning is poor (birth rate is too high and the number of abortions and sterilizations too low). They say the fitting of IUDs is mandatory, as one township government official told a netizen by phone, saying that this was “coercive” and that there are “documents,” meaning that there are written government orders.
The Chinese people exposing the new campaign also raised questions about the fact that the notices issued by different local governments offered different rewards, or did not specify the amount of the reward, to couples who underwent the birth control procedures “of their own volition.” They raised the possibility that the neighborhood committees and Huizhou government departments might embezzle money.
ChinaAid added: “Information from other sources indicate that similar birth control requirements are being imposed on women in other provinces as well. On the government website for Fuzhou, Fujian province, a commenter suggested the same measure already in place in Huizhou: that documents showing the mother’s use of IUD be presented at the time of applying for household registration for a newborn.”
The group continued: “The Hainan Agriculture and Land Reclamation Daily reported on June 4 that good family planning work had resulted in dropping birth rates in reclaimed land areas, and so the Health Bureau under the Agriculture and Land Reclamation Administration had been honored by the provincial Office of the Leading Group for Family Planning with the designation of an “advanced unit” for “comprehensive management of population and family planning.”
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English translations of the notices follow:
- Notice
- To women in the community of child-bearing age:
- To strengthen population and family planning work and to maintain a steady and low birth rate, and in the spirit of the “Circular on Further Improving the Launching, According to the Law, of Centralized Services for Population and Family Planning” and in consideration of the actual circumstances of our community, a decision has been made after some research that a focused family planning service campaign shall be conducted in the community under our jurisdiction.
- I. Date of campaign: May 28, 2013 to June 30, 2013.
- II. Preferential treatment during the campaign:
- 1. During the campaign, those women who have had one child should of their own volition be fitted with an IUD as a birth-control measure; and those who have had children in violation of the family planning policy should of their own volition get a tubal ligation. The operation fee shall be waived and special transport to and from [the hospital] will be provided .
- 2. For those who have had children in compliance with the family planning policy and who take long-term birth-control measures of their own volition will be given a one-time reward by this office.
- III. Tel: XXX Mailing address: XXX
- XXX Neighborhood Committee
- XX Community Neighborhood Committee
- May 28, 2013
- Note: Women of childbearing age who take birth-control measures from May 28, 2013 through June 30, please come to register at XXX community.
According to the notice issued by Lilin government of the Zhongkai High-Tech Zone of Huizhou Municipality, notice is given of these five items:
- 1. School enrollment is linked to the family planning policy. For people who have not taken the appropriate measures, the family planning office will not issue a family planning certificate for their children’s school enrollment.
- 2. Social security is linked to the family planning policy. For people who have not taken the appropriate measures, social security departments will not process their social security applications.
- 3. Hospitals are linked to the family planning policy. For people who have not taken the appropriate measures, hospitals won’t process related paperwork.
- 4. Village Party Committees are linked to the family planning policy. For people who have not taken the appropriate measures, village Party Committees won’t process related paperwork.
- 5. Governments are linked to the family planning policy. For people who have not taken the appropriate measures, governments won’t process related paperwork.
- For couples who have one child and the wife is fitted with an IUD, they shall receive a reward of 300 yuan; for couples who have two children (within the quota system) and who have been sterilized, they shall receive a reward of 2,000 yuan; for couples who have two daughters (in compliance with the family planning policy) and who have been sterilized, they shall receive a reward of 10,000 yuan. The reward period: May 23 through June 30, 2013. Only those who implement these measures within this period are eligible to apply for the rewards. For couples who have had children outside the quota system and who take birth-control measures, they can apply for the rewards after they have paid the social child support fees [i.e. the fine charged to families that have violated the family planning policy].
- Lilin Township People’s Government
- 2013
Notice of the Launch of Population and Family Planning Month
- To women in the community of child-bearing age:
- To strengthen population and family planning work and to maintain a steady and low birth rate, and in the spirit of the “Circular on Further Improving the Launching, According to the Law, of Centralized Services for Population and Family Planning” and in consideration of the actual circumstances of our community, a decision has been made after some research that a focused family planning service campaign shall be conducted in the community under our jurisdiction.
- I. Date of campaign: May 23, 2013 to June 30, 2013.
- II. Preferential treatment during the campaign:
- During the campaign, those women who have had one child and of their own volition have been fitted with an IUD as a birth-control measure will be reimbursed up to 500 yuan for the IUD fitting and shall be given a one-time reward; those who have had two children within or outside the family planning policy quota system and who of their own volition undergo a tubal ligation will have the operation fee waived, will be provided special transport to and from [the hospital] and will also be given a one-time reward. Those who intend to take long-term birth-control measures, please contact your neighborhood committee for details.
- III. Tel: XXX Mailing address: XXX
- Community Neighborhood Committee
- May 31, 2013
- Note: Women of childbearing age who are willing to take birth-control measures from May 28, 2013 through June 30: please come to register at XXX community.
- To all women of child-bearing age:
- To strengthen population and family planning work and to maintain a steady and low birth rate and in the spirit of the working conference on population and family planning convened by the municipal and district governments and in the spirit of the “Circular on Further Improving the Launching, According to the Law, of Centralized Services for Population and Family Planning” issued by Huizhou District Family Planning Bureau, and in consideration of the actual circumstances of our community, a decision has been made after some research that a focused family planning service campaign shall be conducted in the community under our jurisdiction. This implementation plan is therefore formulated for the purpose.
- I. Date of campaign: from May 23, 2013 to June 30, 2013.
- II. Preferential treatment during the campaign:
- During the campaign, those women who have had one child should of their own volition be fitted with an IUD as a birth-control measure; in the same time, those who have had children e in violation of the family planning policy, should of their own volition undergo a tubal ligation. The operation fee shall be waived and special transport to and from [the hospital] will be provided (household registration is within our jurisdiction or residents of our jurisdictional area whose household registration is elsewhere). Those who have had children in compliance with the family planning policy and who of their own volition take long-term birth-control measures will be given a one-time reward by this office. Please consult your neighborhood committee for details.
- Note: When applying for a newborn’s household registration, [the mother] must have already been fitted with an IUD.
- Tel: 2393515; 13502281876, 13824286124
- Mailing address: 3rd floor, Second-Hand Market, No. 9, Maixing Road
