Opinion ID: 43651
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: De Dong’s June 1996 Asylum Interview

Text: In June 1996, an asylum officer interviewed De Dong regarding his 1993 asylum application. De Dong’s oral testimony differed from the statements in his asylum application. During the interview, De Dong testified that his fourth child was not aborted, but was killed by a neighbor during a dispute. De Dong further testified that he feared returning to China because “he would probably fight with his neighbor and since the neighbor had boys and [he] had only girls,” De Dong would lose the fight. De Dong testified that he violated the family-planning policy because he wanted boys, rather than girls. The asylum officer concluded that De Dong’s oral testimony was credible. However, the asylum officer concluded that because De Dong was punished for 4 violating a law of general applicability and was not singled out, he was ineligible for asylum.