» 06/15/2012 11:55 CHINA Chinese authorities apologize for the forced abortion. "You are like Nazis" by Wang Zhicheng Criticism still raging against forced abortion in the seventh month of pregnancy. The government suspends Ankang family planning employees and apologizes to the woman. It gives her permission to have another child. But her husband, who wants to bring them to trial, says: "The government should not have the power to say how and when to have children."
Beijing (AsiaNews) - The provincial authorities of Ankang (Shaanxi) have apologized to a Zhengjia woman, for forcing her to have an abortion at seven months pregnant and suspended employees guilty of the act. But on the Internet criticism of the one-child law still rages and many are labeling the family planning agents as "Nazis".
For days, Internet users have condemned the population control agency that forced Feng Jianmei, a woman of 22, to undergo an abortion in the seventh month. Feng has a five year old daughter and another son is prohibited by law.Family planning employees threatened her with a fine of 40 thousand yuan (about 4 thousand euros, four years of wages) on pain of undergoing an abortion. But abortion is prohibited after the sixth month. Criticism and complaints have rained from all over China when pictures of the woman, devastated by the abortion, recovering in the bed with the bleeding corpse of the aborted baby by her side, appeared on the internet.
One comment reported by AFP said: "This is what the Japanese devils and the Nazis did. Yet it happens here and certainly is not the only case. They [the employees of family planning] should be sentenced to death."
The authorities in Ankang not apologized and confirmed the violence against Feng Jianmei. They have also suspended three employees who have ordered the forced abortion. This is Nenghai Jiang, head of the one-child office; Pingyin Chen, Zengjia mayor, Ren Longchun the city of Feng clerk. In addition, they have gone to visit the woman still in shock in hospital and have given her permission to have another child.
The woman's husband, Deng Jiyuan said, however, bitterly comments: "The government should not have the power to tell us when and how to have a child." He is not satisfied with the apology and wants to bring the authorities to trial.
The readiness of the apology from the authorities rather surprised observers. The one child law, ordered by Deng Xiaoping in the late 70's is always praised for having reduced by 400 million people by the Chinese people and kicked off the country's economic development. But it clashes with the traditional culture of China, always open to life and families. In addition, for decades, the law was imposed through violence, through abortion, forced sterilization, beatings, fines and seizures (see 24/09/2011 One-child law: new cases of abortions, forced sterilizations and imprisonment).
At least 13 million abortions take place in China, many are forced to keep population growth under control.
If all the victims of forced abortions decided to go to court against the government, the courts risk being drowned by trials.
This is the first time that the family planning authorities have apologized for their violent work. In the past, Chen Guangcheng, the blind activist, now in the U.S. for studies, was sentenced to prison and house arrest for exposing their thousands of forced sterilizations and abortions in Shandong.
