Washington (AsiaNews) – Inspired by Martin Luther King’s dream and Barack Obama’s more recent words, ‘Yes we can,’ the United States can stop forced abortions and sterilisations in China, which represents a daily holocaust that has lasted these 30 years, this according to Chai Ling, a former protest leader during the Tiananmen Square standoff. She called for a stop to selective and forced abortions in a speech delivered in front of the White House lawn today. Inside, President Obama was hosting a state dinner in honour of Chinese President Hu Jintao, who is on an official visit to the United States. Chinese dissidents and members of the US Congress opposed to the regime in Beijing took part in the same rally. Ms Chai, who converted to Christianity on 4 April 2010 (see “Chai Ling, former Tiananmen leader, has become a Christian,” in AsiaNews, 5 April 2010), centred her address on what amounts to large-scale infanticide, the equivalent of “a Tiananmen massacre taking place every hour”.

Here is the full text of her speech.

“As we gather here in Washington, over 35,000 forced and coerced abortions are taking place today in China; every 2.5 second a precious baby's life is taken; among every six baby girls, one will never be born simply because she is a girl; 500 women will commit suicide, at five times the world average rate; 3,000 baby girls are abandoned on street corners; and more than 200 children and women are trafficked into slavery.

"The brutal and violent enforcement of the one-child policy is the largest crime against humanity; it is the inhumane secret slaughter against mothers and babies; it is a Tiananmen massacre taking place every hour; and it is an unending holocaust that has gone on for 30 years.  In November 2009, it was Ms. Little John's prayer, Bob Fu's China's Aid's testifying and Congressman Smith's hearing opened my eyes to this massive crime. Now my life is devoted to help end this crime; so I invite you to join my prayer: let today, let this week, the world will also see this crime too, and will join forces to end it.

“Yesterday we celebrated Dr. King's birthday [Martin Luther King]. His passionate dream led to a generation and a world that restores life, value and dignity to all races.  Today, we too have a dream! We dream a dream that will restore life, value and dignity to all children, all gender, in China and around the world.

“We dream a dream that tomorrow China's Forced One Child Policy will become history; we dream a dream that children will grow up with brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts; we dream a dream that all tears will be wiped from the faces of parents whose children were taken; we dream a dream that all young men will have brides and taste the sweetness of being newlywed; we dream a dream that all mothers will mourn no more because they are with children; we dream a dream that the oppressed will find freedom and the exiled will return home; we dream a dream that justice will roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! We dream a dream that God would bless his promised land of China and the world: that there will be no more death, no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain, for the old order of things has passed away. We know these dreams will come true because God's words are trustworthy and true (Revelation 21:4-5).

“President Obama, we also remember your words that inspired our generation: Yes we can. We applaud Secretary Clinton's courage to raise human rights as one of the four key issues for this visit. President Obama, Secretary Clinton, Congressional leaders of the United States, we encourage you all to say Yes We Can to leaders of China: End forced abortions and gendercide.

“We know You Can because your people have spoken: thousands of people in America and around the world have signed a petition to you to help end forced abortions and sterilizations; We know You Can because more than 300 people, men and women, mothers, daughters and grandmothers have sent us pictures of their pledges to All Girls Allowed to restore life, value and dignity to girls and mothers. We know You Can because our own work at All Girls Allowed, change is possible. Inside China's poorest rural areas where girl-killing ratios are as high as seven boys to three girls, 325 families are chosen to receive Baby Shower Gifts to support the births of their baby girls. The results: gender preference in these villages is changing, girls are not only allowed, but welcomed; and we know You Can, last Friday, a beautiful three-year-old toddler girl nick named 'Little Bean,' who was trafficked on June 4th night last summer, is now able to say to her family: 'Daddy, I am home!' This is the picture of her taking down her own missing child posting in her father's arm.

“We are blessed to have an awesome God who brings miracles like Little Bean's reunion. May President Hu experience that God loves him too. Together, We Can bring God's love to China and the world!”