Chen entered the Grand Committee
Room at the palace of Westminster to a standing ovation. He was accompanied by
his wife, Yuan Weijing, and an interpreter, Pastor “Bob” Xiqiu Fu, who was
himself an escapee from Tiananmen Square and the founder of China Aid, "an
international non-profit Christian human rights organization committed to
promoting religious freedom and the rule of law in China."
Chen gave a moving account of the
effects of life under China’s Communist Party, where human life has little or
no value. He broke down in tears before the invited audience as he described
the forced abortions which take place in their tens of thousands. Gendercide
and infanticide are normal, everyday occurrences, accompanying the abortions
which happen because a couple already has one child and has not received
permission for a second.
In this country, a few months
ago, we heard of the newborn, found alive, her placenta still attached, in a
plastic bag in a dustbin, her throat cut. We also heard of the woman whose
full-term baby was left at her side to remind her not to become pregnant again.
The media in this country also reported the story of the woman whose baby was
aborted because she became pregnant and whose husband was arrested, beaten and
imprisoned for having made her pregnant, but these were only the minute tip of
the iceberg. We did not learn whether or not there were reprisals against
whoever managed to take those stories to the outside world.
Interrupted by his tears, Chen
related the account of a woman, arrested under the One-child policy, whose 3
year-old daughter was deliberately locked into the house, so that she starved
to death in spite of the mother’s frantic pleas to feed the little girl.
Eventually neighbours found the child’s body 21 days later, alerted by the
smell from the house. She had worn her fingers to the bone in trying to escape
through iron security bars. Eventually, she starved.
When did Chen first learn of the
forced abortions and sterilisations? “It was unavoidable. I first became aware
of them in 1979 as I was growing up. Then by 1982-83, they were happening
everywhere so it is impossible to name any particular source. They were so
common.”
It was the injustice of China’s One-child
policy which inspired Chen to study law and to fight for justice for families
suffering at the hands of the Communist Party. “Even when I was a small child,
I realised that a dictatorship does not reason with you. It was difficult to
get hold of law books. One book can change a whole village, but even for that
one book, it is extremely difficult to obtain a copy.”
Chen Guangcheng, who escaped
extra-legal house arrest in Shandong, would be unknown to most people in
Britain had not he and his family succeeded in taking refuge in the American
Embassy in Beijing, from whence, in 2012, they travelled to Washington. Chen’s
story includes four years of imprisonment and two further years of house
arrest. Perhaps, in the Chinese Government’s attempts to silence him, the world
heard his voice ever more loudly, especially when, in an effort to force Chen’s
cooperation, his wife was also repeatedly beaten. Yet at a press conference in
London, he declared that “Persecution, imprisonment and torture are a small
matter. There were other things that are much harder to tell.”
News of his
strenuous defence of human life and rights reached across the world. It was for
that reason that he was considered the ideal person to receive the Westminster
Award, established in honour of the late Phyllis Bowman, foundress of the Right
to Life Charitable Trust.
Fr. Alan
Rabjohns, Chairman of the Trust, who was unable to attend the event because of
illness, said, “It was so right that this award should be presented in memory
of Phyllis Bowman, firstly because she had campaigned on Mr. Chen's behalf in
2011, but also because they were similar characters. She would not be put off
by any opposition and was unwavering in her defence of the unborn and this
commitment to truth and right is reflected in the life and action of Mr Chen, a
truly worthy first recipient of this award.”
John Cotter, a
Trustee of Right to Life added, “It was an enormous privilege to be in the
company of this exceptionally brave and heroic man, who sacrificed his own safety,
and that of his family, in order to protect the victims of China's cruel one-child
policy. Chen might have been blind since he was a small child but his depth of
spiritual vision is something to inspire wonder and admiration.”
Lord David
Alton, one of Britain’s foremost campaigners on behalf of the sacredness of
human life, addressed the packed Grand Committee Room attached to Westminster
Hall. “While others remained silent, Chen courageously dared to speak out
against China's coercive One-child policy
which has led to 330 million abortions and to 37 million more men than
women. Today, in China, the three most dangerous words are “It's a girl.””
“Chen's stand
against this egregious violation of
human rights led to four years imprisonment, then to house arrest, and then to
a death-defying escape from China. Today, Chen's relatives, whom he had to
leave behind, continue to be intimidated and attacked by local officials.”
“It took this
blind man to see and to challenge what political leaders chose not to see. His
bravery and his suffering, in the cause of human rights and human dignity,
shames those who implemented these polices and those in the West who have aided
and abetted them.”
Lord Alton
concluded, “While Chen Guangchen was incarcerated... I travelled to China and
told senior Chinese officials that I thought that one day Chen would be seen as
a national hero. It was striking that no one contradicted me or shouted me
down. Of course, many officials have suffered under these policies too. Hardly
anyone in China is unaffected. But, while
others remained silent it was Chen who had the bravery to speak out and to
challenge this inhumane, misguided and cruel policy.”
Interestingly,
although Chen received several standing ovations during the presentation, gave
several media interviews and met a number of Parliamentarians, not one Cabinet
Member met him, in spite of invitations. As Chris Whitehouse remarked that, at
this particular time, “Economics seem to be more important than human life.”
For those of us for whom life comes before the economy, meeting Chen Guangcheng
was a privilege that comes once in a lifetime.
