News

By Gudrun Schultz

Human Rights Activist Chen GuangchengBEIJING, China, June 14, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Police in Shandong province have admitted to the arrest of human rights activist Chen Guangcheng, missing since March 11, reported AsiaNews on Monday.

Chen Guangcheng, 35, has been a fearless worker in the fight against China’s brutal one-child policy, most recently exposing a campaign of forced abortions and sterilizations carried out by the Chinese authorities in Linyi, Shandong.

Chen Guangcheng disappeared March 11 after protesting the police beating of his brother Chen Guangyu, according to his wife, Yuan Weijing. Chen Guangcheng was arrested along with his two brothers after they complained of the beating to police in a neighbouring village.

The arrest was not made official until last week, when police asked Yuan Weijing to sign a document listing the charges held against Chen Guangcheng. He has been charged with intending to damage public property and inciting people to disrupt transport.

“The charges are groundless,” said Yuan Weijing. According to lawyer Teng Biao, Chen Guangcheng is “in the hands of county, not national, police,” and “it’s possible he will be tried for these charges.”

Chen Guangcheng had been held under house arrest since August 2005 in his home in the farming village of Dongshigu, in Shandong province.

The blind activist has been targeted by Chinese authorities for his ongoing efforts to expose human rights crimes perpetuated by the government.

Reports of the campaign to enforce the one-child policy underway in eastern Shandong province allege that more than 120,000 people have been forced to undergo abortions and sterilizations, despite the official claim by some Chinese authorities that the practice of such brutal enforcement is now illegal.

See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:

Blind Chinese Activist Beaten by Government Thugs While Under House Arrest
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jan/06010608.html

Chinese Legal Activist Arrested Again – Local Officials Deny Knowledge
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/mar/06031405.html

Chinese One-Child Policy Protester Missing Since Arrest Last Month
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/apr/06040507.html

Forced Abortion Continues in China at Alarming Rate says Latest Report
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/oct/05102602.html