Activists says malpractices exposed by escaped Chinese dissident continue in country

Beijing, Apr 29 (ANI): Malpractices, such as forced sterilization, abortions, that Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng exposed are still taking place in the country.

Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch China director, said the abuses that Chen revealed still continued.

According to Los Angeles Times, forced abortions, sterilizations, detentions, beatings and firings for those violating family planning rules have been reported.

In Linyi, where Chen exposed the abuses, the families of women who fled to avoid losing their babies have been punished, according to lawyers and residents.

The non-profit Chinese Human Rights Defenders has found that the same problems existed less than six months ago, when it released a report on reproductive rights.

The report revealed that married women were still required to get permission from the government before giving birth. They were pressurized into going gynaecological tests to check for pregnancy, and were forced to abort to stay within their birth quotas.ome wealthy Chinese, however, simply paid fines to have more children.

But the rules are firm in other areas. In rural regions, local officials could fine poor families or raid villages, forcing women to be sterilized or undergo abortions in trucks, said Renee Xia, executive director of the Rights Defenders a non profit group.

"These extreme cases are not as frequent as a decade ago. But the national policy remains in place. If you have a local government with zealous officials, they can go after people," she said. (ANI)