FRONT ROYAL, Virginia, May 13, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In response to a May 7th interview by CNN founder Ted Turner on NPR’s “The Diane Rehm Show,” researcher Colin Mason of the Population Research Institute (PRI) has expressed “shock” at Turner’s “gross ignorance” on the subject of human rights in China. (See coverage at: https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/may/09051211.html)

In the interview, Turner praised the Chinese government for instituting the one-child policy, saying that they were “wise” to do so. He went on to make the claim that the Chinese government does not use “draconian” measures to limit its population. Rather, he said, the government employs non-coercive methods like tax penalties to “encourage” smaller families.

When pressed, Turner admitted that he was “not intimately familiar with everything,” but he did not amend his stance (the interview is available on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTME9ahQBWM)

Colin Mason, who returned in March from an on-the-ground investigation of China’s population control tactics, accused Turner of gross naiveté. (See: https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032501.html)

“The situation in China is just as bad now as it was in 1979,” said Mason. “Which is to say, ham-handed coercion is still prevalent. I cannot think of a better word than ‘draconian’ for the policy that the Chinese are visiting upon their people.”

“Having just witnessed this terrible suffering,” Mason continued, “I’m shocked and appalled that the founder of one of the nation’s leading news corporations could possibly say something so uninformed. The fact that he said it, authoritatively, on nationwide radio makes it all the more inexcusable.”

Steven Mosher, PRI’s president and respected China expert, was equally critical.

“I’m completely convinced that the abuses that Colin reported are of the exact same nature as the abuses I found in 1979 and that PRI’s investigation found in 2001,” said Mosher. “As a leader in the news industry, Mr. Turner should do his research more thoroughly before buying so quickly into Chinese government myths.”

See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

On-the-Ground China Investigation Re-Confirms UNFPA Complicit in Coercive One-Child Policy
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/mar/09032501.html

Chinese Government to Increase Fines for Violating One-Child Policy
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09011614.html

China’s One-Child Terror Campaign Continues
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jul/07071008.html

UNFPA Supports Coercive Family Planning-Including Forced Abortion-in China
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2001/oct/011005c.html

One-Child Policy Opponent Tortured in Chinese Labour Camp
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/oct/041008b.html

Forced Abortion Still A Reality in China Says New Amnesty Report
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/may/05052706.html