Chinese city detains 1,300 in compulsory sterilisation drive

(Mail Online 16 April 2010 )

Chinese family planning authorities have detained 1,300 people to sterilise as part of a crackdown on parents who violate strict birth control rules. Authorities in Puning, a city in southern China's Guangdong province, have detained the men and women against their will in cramped offices, according to state media. There they are being forced to listen to lectures on laws limiting the size of families. Officials in Puning last week launched a 20-day campaign to sterilise 9,559 women or their husbands who they suspect of planning to have a second or third child.

State media said that half of that number have so far agreed to comply. The Nanfang Countryside Daily reported that those detained included parents who refused to undergo a surgical sterilisation procedure and their 'relatives'.

Among those held are the elderly parents of those who have tried to evade the family planning authorities. The newspaper claimed that on April 10 some 100 people, mostly old, were seen inside a 200 metre square building at a family planning centre. The newspaper reported: 'There were some mats on the floor, but the room was too small for all the people to lie down and sleep, so the young ones had to stand or squat. Due to the lack of quilts, many cuddled up to fight the cold.' An employee at the Puning Population and Family Bureau told the publication: 'It's not uncommon for family planning authorities to adopt some tough tactics.'

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