China Girl

Female infanticide, sex-selective abortions, and the abandonment and neglect of baby girls remained problems due to the traditional preference for sons and the birth limitation policy. Many families, particularly in rural areas, used ultrasound to identify female fetuses and terminate pregnancies. An official study in Hainan found that 68 percent of abortions were of female fetuses. Official figures from November 2000 put the overall male-female birth ratio at 116.9 to 100 (as compared to the statistical norm of 106 to 100). For second births, the ratio was 151.9 to 100. Female babies also suffered from a higher mortality rate than male babies, contrary to the worldwide trend. State media reported that infant mortality rates in rural areas were 27 percent higher for girls than boys. Neglect of baby girls was one factor in their lower survival rate. One study found the differential mortality rates were highest in areas where women had a lower social status and economic and medical condi ... [Read More]

China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)

There were reports that women and girls from Burma, Laos, North Korea, Vietnam, and Russia were trafficked into the country either to work in the sex trade or to be forced to marry Chinese men. Trafficking of North Korean women and girls into the country to work in the sex industry was reportedly widespread in the northeastern part of the country; border guards reportedly were involved. Many such women, unable to speak Chinese, were virtual prisoners. Others chose to stay in their new situation because China was less poverty-stricken than North Korea. A few of the Korean women were sold against their will to rural men in both ethnic Korean and ethnic Han areas. Others ended up working as prostitutes. According to press reports, North Korean brides were sold for approximately $38 (RMB 315) to $150 (RMB 1,245). Women reportedly also were trafficked from Vietnam into the country for purposes of forced marriage. ... [Read More]

China (includes Tibet, Hong Kong, and Macau)

Female infanticide, sex-selective abortions, and the abandonment and neglect of baby girls remained problems due to the traditional preference for sons and the birth limitation policy (see Section 1.f.). Many families, particularly in rural areas, used ultrasound to identify female fetuses and terminate pregnancies. An official study in Hainan Province found that 68 percent of abortions were of female fetuses. In a 2002 survey, 35 percent of women in one rural township admitting to having an abortion because of preference for a male child. Official figures from November 2000 put the overall male-female sex ratio at birth at 116.9 to 100 (as compared to the statistical norm of 106 to 100). For second births, the ratio was 151.9 to 100. Female babies also suffered from a higher mortality rate than male babies, contrary to the worldwide trend. State media reported that infant mortality rates in rural areas were 27 percent higher for girls than boys. Neglect of baby girls ... [Read More]

One-Child Policy in China

The Chinese Government has also started a new government public information pilot project to highlight the status of the girl child. This could be an important step for human rights in eliminating discrimination against women and girls in China. Such an effort responds to the continuing reports of sex selective abortions in China and abandonment of girl babies, horrific behaviors that result from the devastating combination of the one-child policy and traditional son preference. Respect for the inherent worth and human dignity of the girl child, from conception through adulthood, is an essential element of a just society. This initiative is only a small step forward, but it does indicate some acknowledgement that the birth planning regime has resulted in very negative outcomes. ... [Read More]

China (Includes Hong Kong and Macau)

The Law on the Protection of Juveniles forbids infanticide, as well as mistreatment or abandonment of children. However, according to the SFPC, only a handful of doctors have been charged with infanticide under this law. The law prohibits discrimination against disabled minors, and codifies a variety of judicial protections for juvenile offenders. The physical abuse of children can be grounds for criminal prosecution. Female infanticide, sex selective abortions, the abandonment of baby girls, and the neglect of baby girls remain problems due to the traditional preference for sons, and the family planning policy, which limits urban couples to one child and rural couples to two. Many families, especially in rural areas, have used ultrasound to identify female fetuses and to terminate pregnancies; however, no reliable statistics are available on the extent of the problem (see Section 1.f.). Estimates from previous years indicate that a very high percentage of pregnancies terminated are of ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Text: Senate Measure Urges China to Release North Korean Refugees

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, this picture says it all. On May 9, eight North Koreans were rushed inside the United States and Japanese consulates in Shenyang in northeastern China some 125 miles from the North Korean border. Five of those sought refuge in the Japanese consulate, including this 2-year-old girl who has the beautiful pigtails and in any other sitting you might think is cute--she is cute in this one as well--sought refuge in the Japanese consulate. They were forcibly removed from inside the consulate compound by the Chinese paramilitary security forces--two of whom you see arresting this girl's mother and why she is crying--and placed in Chinese police detention. ... [Read More]

China (includes Hong Kong and Macau)

Female infanticide, sex selective abortions, the abandonment of baby girls, and the neglect of baby girls remain problems due to the traditional preference for sons, and the family planning policy, which strictly limits urban couples to one child and rural couples to two.  Regulations forbid the termination of pregnancies based on the sex of the fetus, but many families, especially in rural areas, have used ultrasound to identify female fetuses and terminate pregnancies.  The use of ultrasound for this purpose is prohibited specifically by the Maternal and Child Health Care Law, which came into effect in 1995 and mandates punishment of medical practitioners who violate the provision.  However, according to the SFPC, only a handful of doctors have been charged under this law.  According to the latest available figures, compiled in 1994, the number of children abandoned each year is approximately 1.7 million, despite the fact that, under the law, child abandonment is ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Text: China's "One-Child" Policy Coercive, State's Dewey Says

The Chinese Government has also started a new government public information pilot project to highlight the status of the girl child. This could be an important step for human rights in eliminating discrimination against women and girls in China. Such an effort responds to the continuing reports of sex selective abortions in China and abandonment of girl babies, horrific behaviors that result from the devastating combination of the one-child policy and traditional son preference. Respect for the inherent worth and human dignity of the girl child, from conception through adulthood, is an essential element of a just society. This initiative is only a small step forward, but it does indicate some acknowledgement that the birth planning regime has resulted in very negative outcomes. ... [Read More]

Report of the China UNFPA Independent Assessment Team

2Note: "It may be actual, direct, or positive, as where physical force is used to compel to act against one’s will, or implied, legal, or constructive, as where one party is constrained by subjugation to other to do what his free will would refuse." Black’s Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, 1990, p. 258.We were told that SFPC-UNFPA negotiations over the joint program took three years, of which three months were spent on three paragraphs that center on birth control quotas and targets, as well as coercive issues. Nevertheless, ample evidence exists of heavy-handed abusive and coercive practices outside the 32 counties since 1995:The June 10, 1998 testimony before the House Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights within the House International Relations Committee of former SFPC official in Fujian Province Gao Xiaoduan and the documents/forms she submi ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

The Peoples’ Republic of China is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. A significant number of Chinese women and children are trafficked internally for forced marriage and forced labor. Chinese women are at times lured abroad with false promises of legitimate employment and then trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to destinations throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and North America, while Chinese men have been trafficked for forced labor to Europe, South America, and the Middle East. A large number of Chinese men and women are smuggled abroad at enormous personal financial cost and, upon arrival in the destination country, are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or other forms of exploitative labor to repay their debts. They often face exploitative conditions that meet t ... [Read More]