China suspended three officials and apologized to a woman who was forced to undergo an abortion seven months into her pregnancy in a case that sparked uproar after graphic photos of the mother and her dead fetus were circulated online.
The moves appeared to be aimed at allaying public anger over a case that has triggered renewed criticism of China’s widely unpopular one-child limit. Designed to control the country’s exploding population, the policy has led to — often violently imposed — forced abortions and sterilizations as local authorities pursue birth quotas set by Beijing.
Feng Jianmei (馮建梅), 23, was beaten by officials and forced to abort her fetus at seven months on June 2 because her family could not afford a 40,000 yuan (US$6,300) fine for having a second child, Chinese media reported this week.
Photo: EPA
Photos of Feng lying on a hospital bed with the blood-covered fetus, reportedly stillborn after a chemical injection killed it, were posted online and went viral, prompting a public outpouring of sympathy and outrage.
The government of Ankang city, where Feng lives in northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, said a deputy mayor visited Feng and her husband in the hospital, apologized to them and said the officials responsible would be suspended amid an investigation.
“Today, I am here on behalf of the municipal government to see you and express our sincere apology to you. I hope to get your understanding,” Ankang Deputy Mayor Du Shouping (杜壽平) said, according to a statement on the city government’s Web site yesterday.
Feng and her husband could not immediately be reached yesterday. A relative who answered Feng’s cellphone said the couple were in talks with city officials.
Xinhua news agency said three officials would be relieved of their duties: two top local family planning officials and the head of the township government.
However, one expert said the officials are unlikely to be seriously punished for a problem that has existed for three decades and that is usually a result of orders carried out to meet the central government’s population quotas.
China legalized abortion in the 1950s, but it did not become common practice until the government began enforcing a one-child limit to stem population growth.
From fewer than 5 million abortions a year before 1979, the number jumped to 8.7 million in 1981, a year after the one-child policy was introduced. It peaked in 1983 at 14.4 million before coming down as China relaxed the policy to allow rural couples a second child if their first was a girl.
Xinhua said Feng was not legally entitled to a second child under China’s one-child limit because she did not have a rural household registration, but added that late-term abortions are prohibited due to the risk of causing physical injury to the mother.
“The correct way to deal with the case would have been for local officials to allow her to deliver the baby first, and then mete out punishment according to regulations,” the agency quoted an anonymous provincial family planning official as saying.
Abuses by family planning officials are often a target for popular frustration, especially amid a growing sense among better-off Chinese that the government has no right to dictate how many children people should have.
One reason that activist Chen Guangcheng (陳光誠) enjoys a wider appeal within China than many other activists is that he and his wife documented complaints about forced abortions and sterilizations in the city that oversees his village.
The couple’s efforts angered local leaders. Chen was jailed and later placed under illegal house arrest, from which he fled six weeks ago in a daring escape. He is now living in New York with his wife and two young children.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College