Template:ChineseText On June 2, 2012, a Chinese woman by the name of Feng Jianmei (Chinese: 冯建梅; pinyin: Féng Jiànméi) was forced to undergo an abortion during her seventh month of pregnancy. Local officials had demanded her family pay a 40,000 yuan fine for violating the nation's one-child policy. When the family was unable to do so, authorities arrested Feng, made her sign an agreement to have an abortion, and held her down while injecting her with a poison to kill the fetus. Feng was reportedly traumatized by the incident and in poor health afterwards.
On June 11, Feng's family posted graphic pictures of her dead child online, sparking controversy across China. At first officials stated the abortion was voluntary, but later admitted that Feng's story was true. The pictures went viral and the story was picked up by international media. After intense national and international criticism, the Chinese government launched an investigation. On June 26, the investigation determined that Feng was not legally entitled to a second child, but that her rights had nonetheless been violated by the local family planning bureau. Two officials were fired and five others punished. On June 27, the National Population and Family Planning Commission announced it would send inspection teams across China to review the practices of local family planning divisions. Feng's husband, Deng Jiyuan (Chinese: 邓吉元; pinyin: Dèng Jíyuán), hired a lawyer to pursue criminal charges, but ultimately the family decided to settle out of court.
The incident has led to increased criticism of the China's one-child policy, both nationally and internationally. It has also brought increased attention to forced abortion in China, which critics say is common, a charge which the government denies. Feng's case has been used in editorials against the one-child policy and abortion in general. The case has also been cited as an example of how the internet is empowering ordinary people in a society perceived by outsiders as oppressive and known for government censorship. On July 5, The European Parliament passed a resolution condemning both Feng's case and forced abortion in general.
Background
Since 1979, Chinese couples have been limited to one child by law in order to control the country's population. Families living in rural areas, as well as those with an ethnic minority background, can often receive an exemption from the law and have a second child without penalty. Otherwise, couples who have two or more children are required to pay a fine to the government. According to He Yafu, an independent demographer, such fines are common and "have become a major source of profit for family planning authorities" in recent years.[1] He adds that the fines allow wealthy families to have extra children while forcing poorer families into involuntary abortions.[1] The fines generate an estimated 20 billion yuan per year in revenue for the government.[1] He Yafu estimates that over 2 trillion yuan (~US$314 billion) in total has been collected since 1980.[2]
Officially Population and Family Planning Law prevents infringement on people's personal rights and property for family planning purposes.[1] However, critiques of the one-child policy say it often leads to coerced abortions, a charge which the government denies.[3] These violations are said to be especially prevalent in rural areas.[1] Activists such as Chen Guangcheng have been jailed by the Chinese government for bringing to light evidence of forced abortions.[4] In 2005, Chen filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of women forced into sterilization or abortions and subsequently spent seven years in jail or under house arrest before defecting to the United States in 2012.[5]
Since 2001, abortion after the sixth month of pregnancy has been illegal in China.[3]
Feng Jianmei
In October 2011, Feng Jianmei, a 22-year-old woman from the small village of Yuping in Zeng Jia Township, Shaanxi province, became pregnant with her second child.[1][6] She had married in 2006 and given birth to a girl in 2007.[7] Acting on the advice of relatives, Feng and her husband, Deng Jiyuan, believed they would be allowed to have a second child since they had waited five years between children and lived in a rural area.[8] According to claims made by Zhenping County officials, Feng was contacted in March 2012 and told she needed to obtain documentation, including a new hukou (household registration), in order to file an application to have the child.[1] With the new hukou showing she lived in a rural area, she would legally be able to have a second child, they said.[9] Her family denies the claim, saying that officials did not notify them until several days before the abortion was induced.[1] The family planning board's lack of activity convinced Feng and Deng that things would work out fine without them obtaining a birth permit – their first daughter was born without one, and the only consequence was a retroactive fine.[10] In order to payoff some debt and earn extra money for a potential fine Deng went to Inner Mongolia for better paying work.[2][8] Previously, Deng only made 4,000 yuan a month working in the local hydroelectric power plant.[8]
Around May 28, local family planning officials phoned Feng to try to persuade her to have an abortion.[8] The attempt was unsuccessful, so on May 30 they paid her a personal visit, showing up at the family house while Deng was away at work. At first, they tried to persuade her to voluntarily have an abortion.[10] Feng claimed to be not feeling well and the officials did not press the issue. After a few hours of the officials waiting in her living room, she told them she was going out to buy food.[10] Instead, she went to an aunt's house, but around 15 officials followed her.[10] They did not immediately arrest Feng, instead setting up shifts to keep watch over her at the aunt's house. Heavy stones were piled against the back door to prevent escape.[10] Early the next morning, Feng went into the kitchen and snuck away from the house, causing the guards to panic.[8] She flagged down a van and persuaded the driver to help her "because there's some people chasing me."[10] The driver let her out down the road, and Feng hid in hillside brush for the next 14 hours, waiting for the cover of darkness in the cold and rainy weather.[10] She later recalled "starring at the road in terror," hoping no one would find her.[8] When darkness came, she went to a relative's house in the countryside and hid under the bed.[10] Somehow she was located by the family planning officials. According to Deng, when Feng was found the men laughed at her and physical assaulted her.[2][11] They let her get a night's sleep before forcing her into a van and taking her to the hospital on June 2.[10] Several witnesses reported that four men carried a struggling Feng out of the house with a pillowcase over her head.[10]
Simultaneously, family planning officials were in communication with Deng. On June 1, they demanded Deng transfer his wife's residency status the next day or else make a 100,000 yuan (US$15,700) payment to the birth-planning social security fund.[10] Transferring the residency status in one day was impossible, but Deng managed to negotiate the payment down to 30,000 yuan before heading back to Zhenping County. He actually only had 18,000 yuan that he had borrowed from work, but hoped an IOU would cover the balance.[10] On his way back, Deng received a threatening text message saying the fee had to be paid immediately and that it would be 40,000 yuan "not a penny less."[10] Other family members received similar threatening text messages.[1]
At the hospital, Feng was forcibly made to apply her thumbprint to a consent form and sign a document authorizing the abortion.[1][3] "There were two men, one grabbed my left side, the other my right, they forced me to sign my name with my right hand, and they forcibly applied the fingerprint with my other hand," she later recalled.[10] She was taken into an operating room and restrained by two men as she was injected with a poison to kill the fetus.[1][10] She later told All Girls Allowed, an American group which campaigns against the one-child policy, "I could feel the baby jumping around inside me all the time, but then she went still."[9] Feng was seven months pregnant at the time, making any abortion, voluntary or not, illegal under Chinese law.[3] No family members were allowed to be present for the procedure.[7]
After the child died of hypoxia, labor was induced and Feng delivered a stillborn girl on June 4.[7] Feng later told All Girls Allowed: "It was much more painful than my first childbirth. The baby was lifeless, and she was all purple and blue."[12] The corpse was then placed next to Feng on her bed for her family to dispose of when they arrived.[10][13]
When Deng returned later that day, he berated his wife for signing the consent form before she convinced him that she had, in fact, not consented to the procedure.[10] Feng was traumatized by the procedure and smashed the door and cabinetry of a nurse's office in a fit of rage.[10] A week later, Deng told The South China Morning Post, "My wife is not well. She is sad and distressed. Sometimes she becomes emotional and confused."[14] Feng reportedly had a severe headache for several weeks after the abortion and attempted suicide multiple times.[12] On June 15, an uncle told reporters Feng was in poor health and unable to eat.[5] On June 26, Feng was still in the hospital and suffering from headaches.[6] She told reporters that she wanted to go home, but that hospital staff would not allow her to leave. On June 29, her family reported that Feng would be released the next day.[15] However, her condition worsened and she was still in the hospital as of July 1. "She has low blood pressure, frequent headaches and stomach aches," reported Feng's sister-in-law, adding that Feng had been feeling "rather gloomy" too.[16] Feng finally returned home on July 10.[17]
Deng filed an official complaint with Ankang's petition office.[14] A deputy mayor allegedly told Deng that they would investigate, but when nothing appeared to be happening Deng posted his family's story online.[14] "I'm angry and want justice," Deng later told CNN.[18] Meanwhile, the township officials had prepared a statement that said Feng was of sound mind and body when she signed the consent form.[10]
Story goes viral
Feng's sister-in-law, Deng Jicai (Chinese: 邓吉彩; pinyin: Dèng Jícǎi), came back from Hubei the day after the abortion and brought a video camera with her to film Feng. A family planning official noticed and demanded the tape be erased.[10] However, Deng Jicai was able to sneak a couple pictures with her cell phone.[10] On June 8, a relative known for his computer work and experience dealing with the media was contacted for help.[10] On June 11, a picture of Feng lying in a hospital bed "staring at the ceiling with dull eyes" next to the bloody corpse was posted on Chinese social media website Sina Weibo.[7][9] A picture of the threatening text message was also uploaded. The pictures caused outrage, and news of the event spread quickly.[3] Angry comments poured in: "This is what they say the Japanese devils and Nazis did. But it's happening in reality and it is by no means the only case ... They [the officials] should be executed," wrote one commentator.[3] Others called it "an atrocity", "the same as murder", and compared it to the "slaughter of children and women in Syria."[7][14] Many comments called for an end to the one-child policy, or tied the case to other controversial topics such as the corruption of local officials or the country's rural-urban divide.[2][19] Many posts were quickly deleted by government censors.[13] Nonetheless, by June 13, more than 40,000 comments about the photos were present on Sina Weibo.[20] By June 15, images of Feng were among the most forwarded on Sina Weibo and "seven-months pregnant forced abortion" was the website's top search term; additionally, more than one million user comments had been logged on the topic.[5][21]
Zhang Kai (Chinese: 张凯; pinyin: Zhāng Kǎi), a lawyer known for his representation of the disadvantaged, posted the story on his blog.[1] Li Chengpeng, a Chinese blogger with more than five million followers, learned of the story and wrote "the purpose of family planning was to control population, but now it has become murder population ... If this evil policy is not stopped, this country will have no humanity."[2] Writer Zhao Chu wrote "this is not about enforcing the policy, it is about depriving someone’s right to live" and attacked the one-child policy calling it "a profit-oriented activity that everyone hates".[2][19] He added that the "tears and cries [of the victim's of the one-child policy] are not heard by so called mainstream society and the victims become worse than the untouchables."[2] Liang Jianzhang, chief executive of Ctrip, called Feng's case "outrageous and violent" and "not unique to Shaanxi."[2] He went on to say "abolition of the absurd family-planning policy is the only way to root out this kind of evil."[2] Within a few days, his post had been re-tweeted over 18,000 times.[2]
Local newspaper Hua Shang Bao ran a story on Feng.[10] Human rights organization 64Tianwang also posted the story and images on June 12.[11] The story was then picked up by major media outlets throughout China. On June 12, while still in the hospital, Feng was interviewed by a reporter and said "My head really hurts... No, it wasn't [with my consent.] It was forced. That's what happened."[22]
On June 14, state-backed newspaper Global Times reported that "online posts about Feng's forced abortion have triggered a torrent of criticism directed at the Zhenping government and sparked debate about the national family planning policy."[1] The South China Morning Post described an "outpouring of public anger over widely disseminated online postings."[14] On his personal Weibo account, chief editor Hu Xijin wrote "I strongly oppose the barbarous forced abortion", saying the country's family planning enforcement needed to change.[2] However, he said that overall the one-child policy was a good thing. "The world resources cannot afford to feed a China with billions of people," he wrote.[2]
Speaking to the press on June 14, Zhang called the abortion "intolerably inhumane and an infringement of human rights" and said Feng's story had already inspired 20 other women to come forward with similar experiences.[1]
Story spreads
On June 13, Agence France-Presse picked up the story writing "Graphic images posted online ... have caused an uproar in China."[23] Al Jazeera also ran a story about Feng Jianmei on the thirteenth.[20]
The story was picked up by the BBC, CNN, The Age, and other major media outlets around the world on June 14.[3][9][18] The BBC wrote that allegations of forced abortion "are nothing new in China, but what has made this one different is a widely circulated photo of the woman lying next to the baby's corpse."[3] CNN wrote that photos of "a bloody baby lying next to Feng" had prompted "rare domestic media coverage and public debate" in China.[18]
Chinese government reaction
After the story went viral, Zhenping County officials denied the allegations, claiming that the abortion was legal and that Feng had requested it.[1] "Feng agreed to go through an operation to end the pregnancy on June 2 following repeated mediation by the township officials," read the county's website.[24] They further stated that she did not have a local hukou and that the couple was not entitled to a second child based on their situation.[1] The statement was later removed, with a search for Feng's name causing an "error" message.[25] A few days later, local family planning official Yuan Fang stated the request for 40,000 yuan was "a deposit" that would have been returned after Feng filed the necessary paperwork.[9]
A hospital employee acknowledged that Feng was staying there and that the hospital "implements" family planning policy and "provides services" to that effect, but denied that forced abortion was a part of what they do.[22] He said he didn't know the details of Feng's case but stated that "she is probably just exaggerating things on the Internet."[22]
It was soon revealed that the Zeng Jia Township had missed its targets under the one-child policy the previous two years and received a "yellow card" warning.[9][10] Desiring to remove the warning, town officials decided to crackdown on enforcement, starting in June 2012.[10]
The Shaanxi Provincial Population and Family Planning Commission quickly launched an investigation.[1] On June 13, Yu Yanmei, the deputy head of Ankang visited the Deng household.[9] After two days of investigation, the commission concluded that Feng had indeed been forced into an illegal abortion.[3] "Such practice has seriously violated the relevant policies, ... harmed the image of our family planning work, and caused extremely poor effects in society," declared the commission.[3] Three officials, including the head of the local family-planning department, were suspended from their jobs on June 14.[5] When asked for comment, an employee of the Ankang Family Planning Bureau said "grass-roots comrades aren't stupid, but this is what they're forced to do ... This is a problem with the entire system."[5]
The Ankang city government, which administers Feng's village, promised to "pursue strict legal and disciplinary action" once the investigation was finished.[5] On June 14, the city issued a formal apology. "Since the illegal actions by some officials have seriously hurt Feng Jianmei and her family, we want to offer our deep apologies to them and to the generic public," read the statement.[18] The same day, deputy mayor Du Shouping visited Feng in the hospital to express the city's "sincere apologies."[5] "I hope we can earn your forgiveness," he said in a statement published on the city's webpage.[5] The Chinese government also said it had released a pamphlet emphasizing that late-term abortion is prohibited and that the legal rights of pregnant women should be maintained.[14]
On June 26, the results of the investigation were announced. The investigation concluded that Feng was not entitled to have a second child due to her non-agricultural hukou, and that she had been told to fix her registration in March.[26] However, Feng's rights were violated by county officials and there was no legal basis for the demanded 40,000 yuan fee.[26] "The incident showed that some officials at the grassroots level have a weak sense of the law and show little concern for the well-being of the people," the report said.[27] The head of the family planning bureau of Zhenping, Jiang Nenghai, and one other official were fired.[6][26] Five other government and hospital employees received some form of punishment.[6] Additionally, the county government was ordered to provide Feng with a living stipend.[6]
Of the government's actions, Deng Jicai said "Of course we're not satisfied with the result."[28] She added, "all they've done is punish a few leaders, but they haven't done anything to the people directly responsible for dragging my sister-in-law in to have an abortion. They haven't pursued a single person for criminal liability."[29] She also noted that no mention was made of the people who later harassed the family, nor was there any mention of an incident where her brother was attacked and beaten.[28] She likened the investigation to "a class at school where the head master scolds pupils without actually punishing them properly."[16] Zhang Kai agreed: "No one is taking criminal responsibility. It does not make sense in terms of law."[27] He also said that the government should provide proper compensation, not a living stipend normally given to poor people.[27] On NetEase, web users also felt that more punishment was needed. Threads critical of the government were quickly locked to prevent further discussion.[28]
International reaction
As a result of the story, China's abortion and population-control policies came under increased scrutiny. International commentators were highly critical of the government's role in Feng's abortion. "Feng Jianmei's story demonstrates how the One-Child Policy continues to sanction violence against women every day," said Chai Ling of All Girls Allowed.[23] "President Hu Jintao said forced abortions do not happen in China, but this family’s testimony shows that they do ... China must end the One-Child Policy and forced abortion,"[12] she added. Women's Rights Without Frontiers' president Richard Littlejohn stated, "No legitimate government would commit or tolerate such an act. Those who are responsible should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity."[11] In a press release, the Christian Alliance Defense Fund called Feng's case "nothing less than a crime against humanity" and asked United States political leaders to formally condemn the act.[30] The World Evangelical Alliance said it was "outraged" by the incident and asked "the Chinese government to ensure that these tragic incidents are prevented from happening in the future."[31]
Speaking about a different case a few days before Feng's story went international, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland declared "we make no secret that the United States strongly oppose all aspects of China's coercive birth limitation policies, including forced abortion and sterilization."[4]
On June 26, Reuters said the story had sparked "a firestorm domestically and around the world".[32] The news service summed up the reaction: "Feng Jianmei's abortion was portrayed in the Chinese and international press as an example of the extreme measures some officials would take to control China's population, even if it meant breaking Chinese law."[32]
Continuing impact
Zhang Kai, a lawyer from Beijing, told Deng Jiyuan he would look into filing a lawsuit against the township government.[14] "To force a woman who is seven months pregnant to have an abortion is a serious violation of the law," he said. "At the very least it should be considered willful and malicious injury."[5] Zhang hopes the case will cause people to rethink China's population control policies. "A lot of similar cases have happened before, but before it was difficult to get the word out," he said. "I hope this forces the relevant people to reflect. The country really needs to think about the second-child question."[5] On June 29, he announced that he was officially representing the family and would seek the help of other lawyers to get the case heard in criminal court. However, he acknowledged that doing so would be difficult. "China's family planning departments are above the law," he explained. "Even when they do something illegal it is rare for them to be held responsible."[15] He remarked that they "could pursue [the family planning officials] under the category of causing injury" which would be classified as "serious harm".[33] In response to the lawsuit threats, local officials cancelled a planned meeting to discuss the living stipend, saying they would wait for Deng's return to Zeng Jia Township.[33]
Judge Xie Xue told reporters that forced abortion would not be classified as homicide or kidnapping, but could qualify as an intentional injury crime. In cases where complications arose after the abortion, such as Feng's, the injury would be considered "serious", with a penalty of three to ten years in jail possible.[34] However, The Wall Street Journal said a legal remedy was unlikely, noting that a 2008 decision by the Supreme People’s Court indicated that litigation could not be based on specific provisions of the Constitution. Furthermore, family planning law does not have any provision for damages awarded to victims of abuse by government officials.[35]
On July 2, Zhang submit an official request for the Ankang police to file a case and investigate the officials involved.[36] Subsequently, Deng returned home and decided to negotiate with local authorities. On July 10, the family agreed to settle out of court for 70,600 yuan (~$11,200). Additionally, the township agreed to pay Feng's medical bills if she contracts a disease from the abortion.[36] "I've given up legal appeals and agreed to take the compensation offered by the township government," Deng remarked. "We just want our normal life back."[36] He added "it has never been about the money. As ordinary people, we can no longer take the pressure from all sides of the society".[37] Zhang said the family gave up on pursuing criminal charges because local law enforcement was uncooperative. "If the prosecutors don't fulfill their responsibilities [to press charges], it's impossible to do," he explained.[17] An official told Xinhua, China's official state news source, that the government was committed to providing for the family's financial needs if they should encounter future financial difficulties and that the government would also provide medical care for Deng's ailing mother.[38]
Zhang said the compensation could not make up for a lifetime of "spiritual pain" and remarked "70,000 for a person's life? It is too little."[39][40] "In terms of compensation, the word satisfaction doesn’t even enter the equation" (emphasis original), Deng remarked. "But this is the result, so we just have to accept it."[41] On Chinese social media, reaction was mixed with many people complaining that the government had been let off the hook too cheaply.[17] International activists said the settlement of Feng's case was just the beginning of the fight to end the one-child policy. "The bottom line is there are hundreds and thousands of [cases like] Feng Jianmei," remarked Bob Fu of ChinaAid.[42] As of July 13, the family had not received the promised compensation and Deng told reporters he was not sure if it would ever come.[41]
In the weeks after Feng Jianmei's story went public, the family suffered from what Zhang called state-backed harassment.[43] The harassment started when Deng attempted to go to Beijing to talk with a lawyer and do a television interview.[6][44] Deng's travel attempt was stopped by "more than 100 people and a dozen of cars," according to his sister, Deng Jicai. Then "a man suddenly appeared and kicked my brother in the stomach", she told reporters.[45] The harassment worsened after Deng Jiyuan was interviewed by Stern on June 22.[44] Subsequently, Deng was followed by "local officials and thugs" everywhere he went, even the bathroom, before disappearing on June 24.[44] He phoned home on June 26 to say he was safe, but his whereabouts remained unknown.[43]
On June 29, Deng reappeared in Beijing. "I came to Beijing in search of help," he told reporters.[15] He said that he had made two unsuccessful attempts to flee before succeeding on his third try.[16] The opportunity to escape came during dinner on June 24, he said. When one of the two people watching him at the time got a phone call and left, Deng decided to make a run for it.[16] He lost the woman tailing him when she had to get off her bike at a pedestrian-only bridge, and then stayed at a friend's house for two days. Deng removed the sim card and battery from his cell phone to prevent being tracked. "I did not sleep or get any new clothes, I could not risk being arrested," he recalled.[16] They rented a car and drove to Beijing. "I assumed there would be government people at the train station," he explained.[16] Whenever they neared police officers, Deng would get out of the car and walk to prevent being spotted.[16]
Other family members also were followed and harassed. Protestors converged outside the hospital where Feng was staying, carrying a banner that read "severely beat the traitors and expel them."[45] Local media reported that the local government had organized the protest.[15] About a dozen guards patrolled outside Feng's hospital room for two weeks, following family members wherever they went.[45] "We feel like prisoners," remarked Deng Jicai.[44] Supporters of the family allege that local officials were also engaged in an online smear campaign against the family.[43] "The whole family feels very depressed and pressured," said Deng Jicai.[43] On June 26, a visiting family member had their tires slashed.[43] A spokesperson for the Shaanxi provincial government called the allegations of harassment unfounded rumors.[43] However, Liang Zhongtang, an independent researcher, said it was common for people who seek outside help to be harassed by local governments. He speculated that the township government was trying to prevent further media coverage of the case.[45] On July 13, Jiyuan said he remained concerned over his family's future safety, remarking "There are rumors on the street that after this thing calms down, when people are not paying attention to us anymore, they [the officials who were punished fro approving the abortion] will kill my family."[41]
Editorials and commentary on case's effects
Feng's case has been a focal point for newspaper editorials against China's one-child policy and abortion in general. Additionally, opponents of the one-child policy have said the case is a potential turning point in the efforts to end the rule.[46] A story in The Wall Street Journal remarked that the case "dramatize[s] the harshness of the one-child policy."[35] The incident prompted Evan Osnos to write a feature piece for The New Yorker titled "Abortion and Politics in China."[21] In the piece, he writes "the Feng case is emblematic of some of the most inflammatory issues on Chinese public life" including money, government corruption, the household registration system, and of course family planning.[21] He concludes "the case is a dramatic demonstration of exactly why the Communist Party had reason to be afraid of the Internet."[21]
On June 23, The Economist featured a story on China’s one-child policy, focusing on Feng's forced abortion and how the internet was empowering people in China. "Even three years ago, Ms Feng’s suffering might have gone unnoticed ... But her relatives uploaded the graphic pictures onto the internet, and soon microblogs had flashed them to millions of people across the country," writes the article's author.[2] Wang Songlian, A researcher for Chinese Human Rights Defenders, said it was certain that the internet had made discussion of Feng's case possible. However, she called the punishments given to officials "isolated" and said "government officials are virtually immune in using violence and carrying out the policy by force. We've not seen any significant [change] in holding officials accountable."[47]
The Epoch Times, an anti-Communist Chinese language newspaper, used Feng's case as a central part of a piece about widespread abuse of human rights in the name of family planning. Feng's abortion is just the "tip of the iceberg", wrote the paper.[48] A June 22 editorial against the one-child policy in The Australian called Feng's case "one small example of the terrible costs of China's longstanding population control regime."[49] A June 25 editorial in the Herald Sun examining family planning in general concluded that Feng "personifies the end game of forced population limits."[50]
Several commentators have compared Feng Jianmei to Liu Yang, who was in the news at roughly the same time for becoming the first Chinese female in space. On June 17, the Tea Leaf Nation blog published a story entitled "Netizens Reflect As One Chinese Woman Touches Heaven, Another Hell."[51] The story focused on a widely distributed Sina Weibo post features pictures of Feng and Liu side by side. Below the pictures, the poster wrote "The stark contrast between the fates of [the] two women ... is the clearest illustration of the torn state of this nation."[51] The post was quickly re-tweeted by famous blogger Han Han. The government deleted both posts, but it was too late – the information had already been shared 70,000 times in the first 24 hours.[51] The International Herald Tribune immediately picked up the story, writing "The gruesome abortion incident was cast this weekend against China’s successful launching of its first female astronaut. The sad irony of the two women’s situations was not lost on Chinese netizens."[52] Two days later, the Global Post published the story and commented "leave it to Sina Weibo to point out what's important."[53] The story concluded by saying the juxtaposition of the two new stories "[highlights] China's current troubled and contradictory state ... Some Chinese women get launched into space, others receive injections that kill their unborn child."[53]
Journalist Andrew Bolt used Feng's case to editorialize against abortion in Australian writing, "Deng Jiyuan has shamed the tyrants of Beijing. But ... he shames us here as well."[54] He compared Feng's abortion to famous cases in Australia and concluded that the main difference was the graphic pictures of Feng's baby.[54]
Asia Times Online featured Feng's story in an editorial titled "China's addiction to birth planning". Author Peter Lee called Feng's case "business as usual for the People's Republic of China's" and "an insight into how the system is working ... and not working."[10] Lee also remarked that it was "disturbing" how many resources the township devoted to persuading Feng, quoting an official as saying "On that day, pretty much all of the township leadership and relevant staff all went [to get Feng to the hospital]."[10] He concluded that the way the case was handled provides strong evidence that at least some of China's leaders are anxious to end the one-child policy.[10] In contrast, an editorial published in The Peninsula argued that the case showed China's leaders were losing their ability to control local authorities.[55]
He Yafu says the controversy has damaged the public image of one-child policy in China.[2] Bloomberg Businessweek cited Feng's case as an example of how enforcement of the policy was softening. The abortion "would have been seen as normal in the past and shows how far society has changed," analyst Wang Feng told the magazine.[56] Journalist Fareed Zakaria suggested there were signs that the Chinese government was softening its rules, noting the large number of prominent citizens who spoke out against Feng's abortion. "Even a few years ago, it would have taken a very brave Chinese thinker to pose that question in public", he wrote.[57] However, he said, formal change would be impossible before a change in leadership occurred, and even then would "take much courage".[57]
A July 17 piece in the Huffington Post argued that the case "captured the public imagination in China because it exemplifies broader systemic issues."[19] The article's authors also noted that that Feng's case had been cited by both pro-life and pro-choice advocates in the United States in support of their causes. For pro-life advocates, they argued, the case represented "the kind of 'federally endorsed' abortions that they fear may lie in store for the United States."[19] Additionally, the case is reminiscent of U.S. abortions motivated by economic concerns and poor advise from authority figures such as doctors. Meanwhile, the authors argue, pro-choice advocates find Feng's case equally compelling "because she should have been granted a choice in the first place."[19]
Official response and calls to reform in China
On June 27, the National Population and Family Planning Commission announced it would conduct a review of family planning enforcement country wide. As part of the review, ten inspection teams would be sent to nineteen different provinces to review the practices of local offices.[58] Additionally, the teams would be charged with settling disputes and would distribute contraceptives.[58] Commission director Wang Xia said the inspection was of great importance, remarking that "even slight carelessness in law enforcement [damages] the image of the Party and the country."[34] He said the review would aim to "strengthen the day-to-day management of services, avoid the use of violence and prevent abuses of administrative enforcement" and placed a special emphasis on the "social maintenance fees" collected from policy violators.[34][58] Simultaneously, the commission declared that fines collected for future violations could no longer be spent at the local level, but instead would go into a general fund.[58] He Yafu described the campaign as an attempt by the commission to restore public trust that had been badly damaged by Feng's forced abortion.[34]
On July 3, 2012, an open letter by three members of the Development Research Center of the State Council, a think tank that advises the Chinese ruling cabinet, was published in the group's newspaper, China Economic Times. In the letter they called for "adjustments" to be made to the one-child policy "as soon as possible".[59] The group advised that "an opening up of the two-child option to all should be considered."[46] Demographer Liang Zhongtang said the letter was likely the start of a gradual shift in policy, but that a sudden shift was very unlikely.[59] Although there was no mention of Feng Jianmei in the letter by name, multiple news sources drew a connection between the timing of the two events.[46][59] Writing for The New Yorker, Evan Osnos said that "pressure for change of China’s one-child policy seems to be mounting" in the wake of Feng's case.[60] On July 5, a group of fifteen well-known thinkers released an own open letter to the National People's Congress arguing that change to family planning law was "imperative".[36][61] The letter mentioned research indicating economic consequences of continuing the one-child policy, but focused on human rights issues, mentioning Feng by name. "Behind these incidents are clear limitations and defects in the nation's family planning laws," read the letter.[61] Liang Jianzhang, one of the letter's signers, told a reporter "From an economic perspective, the one-child policy is irrational. From a human-rights perspective, it's even less rational."[61]
International action
On July 5, the European Parliament passed a resolution saying it "strongly condemns" both Feng's case specifically and forced abortions in general, "especially in the context of the one-child policy."[62] The resolution also requested that forced abortion be added the agenda for the "next bilateral human rights dialogue with China."[63] Additionally, some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) requested an independent investigation into forced abortion and infanticide in China.[62] A few days later, MEP Lojze Peterle opined that Chinese family planning law violates provisions outlined by the United Nations in the International Conference on Population and Development. He said the resolution passed by parliament gives the European Commission a "clear mandate" to withdraw funds from any organization potentially involved in aiding coercive practices in China, citing the International Planned Parenthood Federation and Marie Stopes International as two potential targets.[64]
On July 9, the Human Rights Subcommittee of the United States House of Representatives had a hearing on the one-child policy, prompted by Feng's story. In his opening remarks, chairman Chris Smith called the one-child policy "a nightmarish 'brave new world' ... where women are psychologically wounded, girls fall victim to sex-selective abortion ... and most children grow up without brothers or sisters, aunts or uncles or cousins."[65] He said that because of Feng, people were "finally seeing the gruesome reality of China’s one-child policy."[66] Congressman Joseph R. Pitts agreed, saying "It now seems that consensus in China is building towards reforming the policy."[66] Committee witnesses called for a number of responses such as restricting United Nations Population Fund outlays and encouraging U.S. corporations doing business in China to reject the country's family-planning practices at their facilities.[66]
Family's future
When asked if she still wanted to have another child, Feng told The New York Times, "That depends on how my body recovers. Yes, if I can get my health back."[6]
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External links
- Original Sina Weibo post that started the controversy (text in Chinese)
- 64Tianwang story with unobscured images that was partially responsible for breaking the story (text in Chinese)
- Text of resolution passed by the European Parliament
- Witness statements from US House hearing
- Opening statement by congressman Chris Smith
- Story about Pan Chunyan, a woman who came forward with her story of being forced into abortion while eight months pregnant after seeing the outrage caused by Feng's abortion
- Editorials about and/or inspired by Feng Jianmei's forced abortion
- Editorial in Global Times (China) condemning forced abortion
- Editorial in Asian Times (Hong Kong/Thailand) arguing against the one-child policy
- Editorial in The Calgary Herald (Canada) arguing against the one-child policy and abortion in general
- Editorial in The New York Times (USA) by abortion-rights activist Nancy Northup condemning forced abortion
- Editorial in The Peninsula (Qatar) arguing that China's leaders are losing control over the country