Barefoot Lawyer – Chen Guangcheng

Meanwhile, we wrote letters to family planning officials in both Shandong and Beijing, alerting them to the situation and urging the party to address these problems in accordance with the law—all to no avail. Later we learned the source of the directive to step things up in our region. An official document had been issued by the party secretary for Linyi, who was feeling pressure to meet population-control targets—often precise caps on births—from his provincial bosses.

The paper instructed officials and cadres not to overestimate people’s legal consciousness and to adopt the tough “traditional” methods used in 1992. They said it was better to slaughter a hundred innocent people by mistake than let one person who had violated the law get away.

After we discovered the existence of this paper and some of the contents, the party recalled all the copies and had them destroyed. By then, however, the damage had already been done. The vicious enforcement program had been rolled out across a vast prefecture that is home to more than ten million people. In 2005, nine counties and three other jurisdictions, all within Linyi, were included in these centrally orchestrated campaigns, which relied on raids, detention, and torture and lasted from early winter into the fall.

According to my later estimate, as many as 520,000 people would ultimately be harassed, fined, detained, or tortured over the course of the campaign, and up to 130,000 people would be subjected to forced abortions or sterilizations. As it happened, something very personal was at stake in this fight: Weijing was pregnant again. We knew the family planning law, of course, but we considered it a violation of our rights and an assault on human nature. We wanted another child; why should the Communist Party have any right to stop us?

Weijing had gotten pregnant before we even knew about the family planning campaign spreading across Linyi, and she fearlessly traveled and worked with me during much of her third trimester. We responded to what was directly in front of us and what we knew to be right, blocking out the politics as much as we could, despite the dangers. Weijing and I worked tirelessly until she began to feel her labor pains, at which point I brought her directly to her mother’s house. On July 21, 2005, exactly four years to the day from Weijing’s first visit with me in Dongshigu, she gave birth by cesarean to our daughter, Kesi.

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Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author’s copyright, please notify the publisher at: us.macmillanusa.com/piracy. 1kitap1.com/en For my mother, Wang Jinxiang; and my wife, Yuan Weijing 1kitap1.com/en In the world as we know it, are there things that are difficult, as well as things that are easy? Through action, those things that seem difficult become easy; with inaction, things that are easy become difficult. Peng Duanshu (1699–1799), from On Studying Bring forth all that is good in the world, and expunge all that is bad.

Mozi (470–391 BCE), from Universal Love One who is shut indoors may come to know the world; one who cannot look out the window may understand the Way of Heaven. Laozi (fifth century BCE), from the Dao De Jing 1kitap1.com/en 1kitap1.com/en Foreword BY THE DALAI LAMA I welcome this publication of Chen Guangcheng’s memoirs of his life so far. It’s a story that should be told because it shows clearly that with determination, confidence in yourself, and a concern for others you can overcome adversity.

Chen Guangcheng overcame the significant setback of blindness and social prejudice and gained an education. He put that education to use by helping and advising the poor people in rural areas who have no one else to turn to. In the clarity of his motivation Chen Guangcheng reminds me of the first generation of communist leaders I met in China sixty years ago, who at the time impressed me with their genuine concern for the welfare of the mass of ordinary people.

When his barefoot activism attracted the attention of vested interests he was tried and imprisoned on the contrived charge of disturbing the peace. When, on his release, he discovered that his own and his family’s normal life activities were restricted by the authorities, he decided to escape. He succeeded, in as much as he and his family have been able to start a new life in the freedom of the United States; however, he continues to champion for the rights of his fellow brothers and sisters, especially the rights of the rural poor.

During my meetings with Chen Guangcheng I was impressed by his drive and warmheartedness. Helping people help themselves as he did is no threat to the peace and order of society, but can instead contribute to its harmony.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

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