Blind lawyer unveils China's abortion horrors

Chen Guangcheng fights for the rights of women in his homeland

U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, right, holds the hand of blind activist Chen Guangcheng as they talk in Beijing May 2. Chen has focused attention to the country's forced abortion and sterilization practices, leading to a crackdown by the government on his movement and prohibitions on contact with foreigners and the media. CNS photo / US Embassy Beijing Press Office handout via Reuters.

The B.C. Catholic has an article from Catholic Register reporter and Catholic News Service contributor Michael Swan about the diplomatic struggles of Chen Guangcheng, a blind lawyer who has unveiled the forced abortion horrors in China caused by the country's one child policy:

As Chinese and U.S. diplomats sought a resolution to the diplomatic crisis surrounding Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, many Chinese-Americans turned their attention to the nature of Chen's dissent.

Without challenging any fundamental tenet of China's constitution or its 1949 revolution, Chen has focused attention to the country's forced abortion and sterilization practices, leading to a crackdown by the government on his movement and prohibitions on contact with foreigners and the media.

The prominence of the self-taught, blind lawyer rose when he escaped from house arrest in Shandong province April 22 and arrived at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing several days later. As Chen went from the embassy to a hospital, the U.S. sought assurances that he would be released from house arrest and that he and his family would not be harmed. Chen told reporters police were in his home waving clubs in front of his wife.

Read the full story at The B.C. Catholic website.