China: Family planning laws, enforcement and exceptions in the province of Jiangsu, including reports of forced abortion or sterilization (2013-January 2015)

Sources report that Jiangsu Province amended the Jiangsu Provincial and Family Planning Regulations in March 2014 (US 6 Aug. 2014; Xinhua 29 Mar. 2014). According to Xinhua News Agency, the Jiangsu provincial government announced that, under the amendment, couples are permitted to have a second child if either parent is an only child, the only other condition being that the wife "should be older than 24 years" (ibid.).

A copy of the 2014 Jiangsu Family Planning Regulations is attached to this Response.

Articles 22 and 23 of the Jiangsu Provincial and Family Planning Regulations describe the conditions under which a person may apply for a second child:

Article 22

If a couple meets any of the following conditions, they may apply for giving birth to a second child:

Either party of the couple is the only child and the couple has only one child;

The couple has only one child with non-serious genetic disease as verified by medical agencies for disabled children, and this child is unable to be cured, or to growing up into a worker with normal functions in spite of systematic treatment, or will have severe difficulty in marriage;

Where either party is a service man/woman, armed police officer or public security personnel or a person who helped any other person for a just cause in spite of danger, if disabled while on duty above grade B and level II, and the couple has only one child;

Where either party of a couple is widowed and the other has not given to any child;

Where either party of a couple was divorced with only one child or has given birth to two children according to law and the other party has not given birth to any child;

Where none of a couple has given birth to any child, and the couple has adopted child according to law but pregnancy takes place;

Either party of a couple works in mining for more than five years in a row and currently is still working in mining, and the couple has only a girl.

Article 23

In addition to the provisions of Article 22 of this Regulation, where the wife is a rural resident and the couple meets any of the following conditions, they may apply for giving birth to another child.

Where the couple has only one child, and the brothers of the husband are unable to bear any child;

Where the couple has only one girl and husband moves into and supports the family of the wife who has no brother (this provision is only applicable to one of the woman's sisters);

Where the husband has only sister(s) without any brother, and the couple has only one girl;

Where the couple has only one girl and lives in a coastal reclamation area with more than five mu per capita (per village);

Where the couple has only one girl and either wife or husband has been engaging in oceanic fishing industry for more than five years;

In case that a couple with only one girl are rural residents who mostly engage in planting or aquaculture, where either the wife or husband suffers from non-genetic physical disability at level I or level II by a medical or labor appraisal agency at and above the county level, the couple may apply for bearing one more child.

Where a rural resident still lives in the rural area even after obtaining urban residence, or a rural resident obtains urban residence after transition from rural residence during small town household residence reforms, the provisions of the preceding two clauses shall be applicable within five years after obtaining urban residence. (Jiangsu 2014)

Sources report that Jiangsu province punishes couples who give birth to children in violation of the regulations with fines (SCMP 21 June 2014; US 9 Dec. 2014), which are called "social maintenance fees" (ibid.). The Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports that the fine "is usually three to six times the region's average annual income" (SCMP 21 June 2014). According to SCMP, in some cities the fines can be more than 200,000 yuan [approximately C$40,000] (ibid.). China Daily reports that, in Jiangsu province, the regulations call for a fine "five to eight times the average annual income of the area where the children were born" and additional fines if the couple's annual income is more than double the area's average income (6 Dec. 2013). The same source notes that the fines vary in different counties and cities (China Daily 6 Dec. 2013). For more information on social maintenance fees, please see Chapter VI of the Jiangsu family planning regulations, which are attached to this Response.

A December 2010 report by Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), a coalition of Chinese and international NGOs working to promote human rights and the rule of law in China (CHRD 31 Aug. 2012), indicates that Jiangsu provincial regulations require couples with children to adopt "long-term" birth control measures (ibid. 21 Dec. 2010, 10). The International Herald Tribune reported in 2010 that, in Jiangsu, "women who miss regular gynaecological exams or fail to undergo surgery for an intrauterine device" face fines (23 Dec. 2010). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a professor of political science at the City University of New York, whose research deals with human rights in China, indicated that, according to a 2012 Chinese-language media source, the official policy in the city of Pizhou is to install a [birth control] device after the first child and to sterilize after the second (Professor 29 Jan. 2015). The source indicated that sterilization and installing a birth control device are "on a voluntary basis," but officials of the township are assigned sterilization and abortion quotas (ibid.). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

According to the SCMP, parents who work in government departments or state-owned enterprises who violate the Jiangsu family planning regulations may lose their jobs (21 June 2014). The US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012 reports a 2010 case in which a woman in Jiangsu was denied a civil service job because she gave birth to a child outside of wedlock; following court proceedings that she brought against the family planning bureau, the decision to deny her the post was upheld (US 19 April 2013, 57). The same source notes that there was a similar case in 2010 involving a male plaintiff, in which the court also ruled that the man was ineligible for a civil service job (ibid.). The Professor indicated that a resident in Rudong, Jiangsu, as reported by a Chinese media source, described enforcement of family planning policy in Rudong, Jiangsu, as "severe," indicating that fines, being fired from one's job, and forced sterilization have been "common practices" in that area (29 Jan. 2015). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Information on forced abortion and sterilization in 2013-2015 could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. However, sources report the following examples of enforcement of family planning policy in Jiangsu Province:

CHRD reports that, in 2009, a woman from Qinyang town was brought for gynaecological testing by officials who were "concerned" she would not be tested before the deadline for periodic tests; she was reportedly restrained and verbally abused en route and "attacked and violently beaten" and "roughly examined" at the planning offices (CHRD 21 Dec. 2010, 15). Of those involved in the beating, one official was "given several days of administrative detention" while the other was "not punished" according to CHRD (ibid.).

The Professor indicated that, according to Chinese media sources, in May 2012, there was a case of a woman in Jiangsu who was being forced to undergo sterilization, but she protested by drinking insecticide (Professor 29 Jan 2015). The same source mentioned another case in which a woman who qualified to have a second child was sterilized against her will (ibid.).

The Professor also said there was a case in June 2012, in Liuxin township, Tongshan county, Xuzhou municipality of Jiangsu, in which a seven-month-old baby was aborted when more than 12 family planning officials "forced" her from her home to a hospital to undergo an abortion (ibid.).

According to the China Aid Association, "an international non-profit Christian human rights organization committed to promoting religious freedom and the rule of law in China" (n.d.), in May 2013 in Xinyi City, more than 20 family planning officials beat a farmer "to near death" for having three children, kidnapped him and "made his family pay a ransom" (ChinaAid 18 May 2013).

According to a Chinese human rights activist interviewed by Reuters, in May 2013, in Xinyi, a woman was beaten by "local thugs" because she was unable to pay the "social maintenance fees" for having more than one child (Reuters 23 May 2013)

Corroborating information for the foregoing examples could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Sources report that, in 2013, a well-known Chinese film director was discovered by officials in the Binhu District, Wuxi City, to be in violation of the family planning policy (CNN 10 Jan. 2014; China Daily 7 Feb. 2014). According to China Daily, the director and his wife had three children before marriage and did not have permission for the births (ibid.). In January 2014, the family planning bureau of Binhu reportedly fined him 7.48 million yuan [US$1.23 million] (ibid.; CNN 10 Jan. 2014). Media sources report that the case sparked public dissatisfaction with the ability of the wealthy to pay fines when they violate family planning regulations (China Daily 6 Dec. 2013; CNN 10 Jan. 2014).

Sources report the June 2014 case of a scrap collector in Suzhou who was discovered by family planning officials to have 10 children (SCMP 21 June 2014; AGA 2 July 2014). The children were discovered following media coverage about the family after one of the children drowned in a nearby pond (ibid.; SCMP 21 June 2014). Only one of the children reportedly had a permanent residence hukou (ibid.; AGA 2 July 2014), allowing for rights to education and health care (ibid.). Sources report that officials have been unsure of how to punish him, as he is living in poverty (ibid.; SCMP 21 June 2014). SCMP notes that the man could face fines of "hundreds of thousands or even millions" [of yuan] (ibid.). According to the newspaper Shanghai Daily, the family was returned to their home village in Pizhou City, and were told by officials that their other nine children can be registered with hukou documents there, but the family may face fines of an estimated 500,000 yuan (US$80,050) (10 June 2014).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

All Girls Allowed (AGA). 2 July 2014. "Poor Man Perplexes Chinese Officials." All Girls Allowed blog. [Accessed 21 Jan. 2015]

Cable News Network (CNN). 10 January 2014. Naomi Ng. "China: Filmmaker Zhang Yimou Fined $1.2M for Breach of One-Child Policy." [Accessed 21 Jan. 2015]

China Aid Association. 18 May 2013. "Family Planning Officials in Jiangsu Province Beat Farmer to Near Death for Unauthorized Births." [Accessed 28 Jan. 2015]

_____. N.d. "Our Mission." [Accessed 29 Jan. 2015]

China Daily. 7 February 2014. Ma Lie. "Zhang Pays Family Planning Fine in Full." [Accessed 28 Jan. 2015]

_____. 6 December. 2013. Yu Ran and Xu Wei. "Lawsuit Seeks $164 Million in Breach of Family Planning Laws." [Accessed 13 Jan. 2015]

Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD). 31 August 2012. "About Chinese Human Rights Defenders." [Accessed 29 Jan. 2015]

_____. 21 December 2010. "I Don't Have a Choice Over My Own Body." [Accessed 14 Jan. 2015]

International Herald Tribune. 23 December 2010. Andrew Jacobs. "Abuse of One-child Law Cited; Human Rights Group Tries to Pressure China Over Birth-control Restrictions." (Factiva)

Jiangsu Province. 2014. Regulation of Jiangsu Province on Population and Family Planning (as amended in 2014). Sent by Marie Stopes International in correspondence with the Research Directorate. Translated by the Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada.

Professor of political science, City University of New York. 29 January 2015. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Reuters. 23 May 2013. "Interview-Forced Abortions, Sterilisations in China Persist: Activist." [Accessed 20 Jan. 2015]

Shanghai Daily. 10 June 2014. "Hukou Spells Hope for 9 Children of Scrap Collectors." [Accessed 29 Jan. 2015]

South China Morning Post (SCMP). 21 June 2014. Alice Yan. "How Should Jiangsu Officials Punish Scrap Collector Who Had 10 Children?" [Accessed 12 Jan. 2015]

United States (US). 9 December 2014. Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC). "One Year Later, Initial Impact of China's Population Planning Policy Adjustment Smaller Than Expected." [Accessed 28 Jan. 2015]

_____. 6 August 2014. Library of Congress. "China: Provincial Family Planning Regulations Amended Allowing More Couples to Have a Second Child." [Accessed 13 Jan. 2015]

_____. 19 April 2013. "China." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012. [Accessed 28 Jan. 2015]

Xinhua News Agency. 29 March 2014. "Jiangsu Relaxes One-child Policy." (Factiva)

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources, including: Attempts to contact the following were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: Assistant Professor of sociology, University of North Carolina; Chinese Human Rights Defenders; Jiangsu Women's Studies Institute; Laogai Research Foundation; Marie Stopes International.

The following were unable to provide information within the time constraints of this Response: China Aid Association; Chinese Human Rights Defenders; Human Rights in China; US-based lawyer who works on family planning issues in China.

Internet websites, including:Amnesty International; British Broadcasting Corporation; China - China Central Television, Jiangsu Provincial People's Government; Chinese Womens' Research Network; ecoi.net; Global Times; Human Rights Watch; Laogai Research Foundation; People's Daily; Population Research Institute; Radio Free Asia; Suzhou Review; UN - Refworld, ReliefWeb; Want China Times; Women's Rights in China; Women's Rights Without Frontiers.

Attachment

Jiangsu Province. 2014. Regulation of Jiangsu Province on Population and Family Planning (as amended in 2014). Sent by Marie Stopes International in correspondence with the Research Directorate. Translated by the Translation Bureau, Public Works and Government Services Canada.