Opinion ID: 3015119
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Events in China

Text: Wang is a 34-year old native and citizen of the People’s Republic of China. He alleges that an intrauterine device (IUD) was forcibly inserted into his wife by government officials after she gave birth to their first daughter in November 1998. Wang claims that because the daughter was born with a disability, and because he and his wife wanted a son, they asked the local authorities for permission to have a second child. Their request was denied pursuant to Fujian Province Family Planning Regulations, under which those with an agricultural registration, including Wang’s wife, are not permitted to have more than one child. AR 253-55. Wang alleges that his wife had the IUD removed by a private doctor and she became pregnant again in December 1999. Wang’s wife hid at her parents’ house until she gave birth to a second daughter. Because she did not wish to burden her ill and aging parents, and because she did not desire to remain in hiding forever, Wang’s wife returned home one month after the birth of her second daughter, in October 2000. Shortly thereafter, Wang alleges that a local birth control cadre came into their home and dragged his wife to a family planning center where she was involuntarily sterilized. Wang submitted into evidence the 1989 Fujian Province Family Planning Regulations that prescribe such measures. The officials also allegedly fined Wang 12,000 RMB (or “Renminbi”), and upon his refusal to pay, began deducting a penalty from Wang’s parents’ retirement pension. Wang claims that, in the period between his wife’s forced sterilization and his departure for the United States, he unsuccessfully attempted to procure a visa to the United States using false documents. He also allegedly wrote a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Commission describing the above incidents. He delivered that letter to the United States Consulate in Guangzhou but denied to consular officials that it related to himself out of fear that its contents might be communicated to Chinese authorities. Wang ultimately left China for the United States through a smuggler whom he paid approximately $60,000 in borrowed funds. 3