Date: 1997-11-06
Speaker: CHEN YUN (republican)
Chamber: H

FE. The Chinese Government only allows us to have only one child. and I have three children. And that is why they want us. people who have more than one child. to have sterilization and also fine a certain amount of money. If a person got pregnant. then they want you to bear the child before It is mature. If you are pregnant. they will force you to have abortion. So I am a woman from the countryside. I do not want to have sterilization. I would like to tell you my story. I have come to the United States. I consider the U.S. Government is a democratic government. And I believe that you will rescue us. Now I am going to tell you my story. In 1982. the second child of my husband and mine were born. And then the local government from the peoples commune. from the sterilization group. they come to our home and noticed us. sent us notice to have me sterilized. Because it Is so Imminent. I told them. yes. OK. I will go and have sterilization. And this is a way that I pushed them away at first. I took the opportunity after they left. I escaped to other places. I can only escape by telling them I agree that I will have sterilization. That is the only way I can get them away. At that time. the sterilization campaign was just at the beginning. so they were not pursuing very tightly. In 1986. the first part of 1986. when the sterilization program. the family program. was at its height and it is very unfortunate that I got pregnant again. It was like a two to 3 months pregnancy I was. And at that time. the cadres of the local government were trying to catch women every place. So you could hear the sound of crying. you know. everywhere. And they used the tractors to put on this big loudspeaker to tell people that those people who are pregnant. you have to go to have It born immature. And then if you are pregnant. you have to have abortionearly stage of abortion. And also. after you have abortion. you are going to have sterilization and be fined a certain amount of money. I did not want to have sterilization. so I was very. very afraid. And also I was thinking even if I had sterilization. I have to be fined and I do not have money. I am a country woman. So I stealthily went to a place to find a medical student who learned to be a doctor to help me to have the abortion. This person is in private practice. And this person. this medical student. he was very afraid. He did not dare to help me. because he said if the government found out he would be In trouble. It was a great risk. But I begged this person again and again. So finally he helped me to have this abortion. Because he Is a medical student. he did not have the full grasp of the technique to do this abortion. so after the abortion I got this very serious Infection because we had done that in a hurry. From then on. I was In poor health. Now after the abortion. I went home. But on my way home. I saw a baby girl which was only born like seven or 8 days. lying on the road. crying very hard. and it is very weak. this little girl. And a lot of people were watching. so I asked people around to help this child who can take this child home. otherwise. this child is going to die because she has nothing to eat. But those people. around said. you are talking nonsense. You know this is the time that the campaign is at its height. who dare to have this child home? So if you want to rescue this child. you are the person who will bring this child home. So I was very angry because I thought. you know. you people did not want to help. this child is going to die. So I said. If nobody wants to help this child. I am going to help the child. If you are afraid of the government. I am not afraid of the government. So finally. I took the child home. People were talking that this child belonged toa family. the last name of the family was Sun. Because in China if you do not have a son. then people will look down upon you if there is no way for you to have a voice. So that Is why the family abandoned this child on the roadside. And I remember what people. the last name is Sun. So I gave her a name called Sun Sisi. still using her own last name. So I adopted her. So after I returned home. later the government. the cadres of the local government. found out. And then they came to my home saying that. you know what you did and you already have two boys and you picked up another girl and so you have to have the sterilization. So I did not want to have sterilization. and I begged them to let me have the child. And I said. what you said is really ridiculous because this child was not my own. I just picked her up from the roadside. But they said. since you picked up the child. it should be accountable among your family planning program. It belongs to you so you have to have sterilization since you have three children. So I told them that the reason that women. after they have their child born. to abandon the child at the roadside was all due to the government policy. If I did not rescue the child. the child was going to die. And when they heard what I said. they were very angry. So I did not want to have the sterilization. I told them. if you really want to have sterilization. then you go and ask this mother of the child to have sterilization. that is the Sun family. this girls mother. But they said. since you picked up. you have to go to have sterilization. So we argued back and forth for a long time. And they came to my home insistent that I should have this sterilization. They came many. many times. So they came to my home more than 10 times. and they said this woman who dares to counter the government. so they forced me to sterilization. I begged them that. since I had already had one abortion. I am in poor health. So they insisted that I am now going to have the sterilization. And then the cadres got very angry. They said this woman is very. very tough. very difficult to deal with. so let us have her husband to have the sterilization. And when my husband heard that they wanted him to be sterilized. so he jumped out of the window and escaped. And so I begged them. saying that. please do not have my husband sterilized because the whole family relied on him to till the land. Because in China we use all manual labor. You have to carry water bucket by bucket. So everythinghe is the mainstay of the labor In the field. So I was very. very frightened and while at the same time I was very angry. So I fainted. and the whole family was crying and I did not know what happened because I fainted. That was In 1986. Now conditions are turning better. People are using tractors. At that time everything was manual labor. So after I came to. the whole family was crying and the cadres were gone and my husband was back. Then I said I would not let my husband be sterilized because I have to rely on him to till the land. Then I decided that we have to go because they will not let us off the hook. Either I will be sterilized or my husband will be sterilized. So we escaped to a place which is closed to where Mao Zedong had his headquarters. It is a very. very tough place. a lot of mountains and wild places. not much to eat. That was a very baron place. I started to work mending other peoples old shoes. It is a very. very deplorable place. The living condition is very. very little. People slept on this bed made of mud. And at the end of the bed. there was a stove. You put firewood in. Then the heat would go through under the bed. That is the heat you have to have in the winter. That is called a kang. And people all live in the cave. So I started upbecause the people were very poor. they have to have their old shoes mended again and again. And I started to do this to make some money. I would not dare to go back home. and I stayed at that place for 7 years. That place has a very. very hurricane kind of a big storm. windy and a lot of snow in winter. People eat. mainly. maize and sorghum. I was very eager to back to visit to see my children and my family. but I was afraid if I went back home I would be caught again. So I stayed there for 7 years. But when I first went there. this place was deplorable. there was no family planning program going on. But. after 7 years. they started having the family planning campaign. They came to the cave where we stayed to check socalled identification. Everyone has an identification. They checked the Identification to see whether there is anything wrong. I returned home in February 1993. And then shortly after that. the government got to know that I was back and so they came to my home saying. that. OK. now you are back. we have been looking for you for several years. we could not find you. And then I begged them not to--I told them that I am not going to have more children. so please do not ask me to have sterilization. They said. no. you are among the list. you are still in the list. you have to have the sterilization. And then they said. this woman Is very stubborn. So even if you have sterilization. we are going to fine more the money that we are going to fine you. So I was very. very angry. I told them that the money you fine you should not use that money. if you use that moneybecause they divide the money among themselvesif you use the money to eat or something. then you will die. Then they started to bind me. you know. to force me. to the sterilization place. And I told them that I did not do anything wrong. I was not a robber. I did not steal anything. They only thing I had done is to have more children than one child. So I was very afraid because my husband. when we Just returned. when people saw these cadres were coming. they shouted. they are coming again. they are coming again. So my husband left again. He escaped. I told him that. you escape. I will deal with them by myself. So he escaped. I told the cadres that. do not. you know. bind me together using a rope or something. I will go and have sterilization by myself. So under such circumstances. I was forced to have sterilization done. After the sterilization. five or 6 days later. I went home. bift I was notI did not agree with their policy. And they are going tobecause I knew they. said. they are going to fine me more money than usual. So I though that. I do not have the money. And then my family told me that my husband escaped because the relatives and friends thought it is very pathetic and they helped him to escape to a foreign country. And I thought to myself. what am I going to do by myself. I do not have the physical strength to till the land by myself and they are going to fine a lot of money. And I had three children. I did not have enough money. So I escaped. too. So I am here.