On October 25th, I visited Lijin County, Dongying City in Shandong Province to investigate the death of Ma Jihong, who died from a forced abortion while seven-months pregnant.
The village of Jiangjiazhuang was about 15 kilometers north of the Lijin county seat. Judging from the appearances of the villagers, they appeared to be fairly well off. Almost all the dwellings in the village were brick. Ma’s family lived in two adobe houses with grass roof at the extreme northern end of the village. They looked to be the poorest family in the village.
I called Gao Xuetao, Ma’s husband, several times before my arrival. He was reluctant to talk to me: “I don’t have a family anymore.” I understood his feelings. Only by asking villagers on the way did I find Jiangjiazhuang. When I came in the doorway, Gao Xuetao was having a meal, a bowl of congee, no appetizers. Gao didn’t want to say anything to me. His sister told me that he just came back from negotiating with the county government. He had been in shock the last few days.
The house was furnished haphazardly. Other than a gas stove and an old television set, it could have been a warehouse. Before Ma’s death there were six people in the family. The couple lived with their two children and Gao’s parents. They averaged about ten thousand yuan a year planting cotton, about 300 dollars a year per person.
Gao sat there motionless after finishing his meal. He could only answer my questions haltingly; his mother and sister sat alongside him to fill in the answers.
11 days ago, at around 9 in the morning of October 14th, Lijin County Family Planning Commission sent a dozen agents by van into the village. As soon as she saw them, Ma Jihong started running away. The Family Planning agents chased the pregnant woman and caught her in a cotton field nearby. They dragged Ma Jihong to the car and drove away immediately. The family had no idea where they went. It wasn’t until 9 o’clock at night that a man came to notify the family that Ma had died in the hospital. The whole family rushed to the county hospital only to see the body still on the operating table.
According to anonymous sources, on the 14th, after Ma Jihong was sent to the hospital, she suffered severe injuries. After the doctors put oxygen masks on her, Family Planning officials took the mask off to perform an abortion. More than ten Family Planning Commission officials were in the room when she was sent to surgery at about 4 in the afternoon. Precisely how Ma died could only be known by hospital personnel and the Family Planning agents present. The family had no idea. The operating room was only opened at 10pm, because of the family’s heated insistence, to allow the family to view the lifeless body of Ma Jihong, whose eyes were still open.
Gao’s sister told me that Ma Jihong was very healthy. The day before her arrest she was still working in the fields. It was impossible for her to have died of any illness. Gao Xuetao had spent the days after his wife’s death protesting to the government without getting any answers. The body had been in the county morgue for two weeks. The unborn baby was still in Ma. Various government departments were blaming each other or trying to cover up the event, without any consideration for the feelings of the family.
The older daughter of Gao and Ma is already attending elementary school. The younger one is in kindergarten. Gao was an only son, so the couple was trying for a third child.
Gao Xuetao is a farmer without much sophistication, but he is very determined to seek justice for his wife. He indicated he would hire a lawyer if necessary. After talking with Ma Jihong’s family, we came to the conclusion to enter the legal process. First, the body must undergo forensic dissection. If the government forces cremation, there will be no evidence. Second, it must be understood that to formally enter the legal process would introduce some level of monitoring of the legal system, which might deter some arbitrary decisions of the local government.
I returned to the Gao family the next morning to give them 1000 yuan as temporary aid. Three men already in the family courtyard crowded around me when I came in. Gao refused the money and told me, “Right now the money wouldn’t solve the real problem. I need your greater help.” I understood he meant legal help.
I could not ask any more questions with these people around so we left. We drove away for about 10 kilometers to a gas station. A man in his fifties opened the taxi door and tried to drag me out to “go have a talk”. I closed the car door and locked it. At this time, another man who looked like an official came up. He was somewhat more polite. “Recently some people came to the Gao family to scam them. We just want to verify your identity.”
The Gao family didn’t have any decent furniture. I told the two, “Why would anyone scam this family? You’ll have to think of a better excuse.” I told them to either show me a legal badge or to let me go. As we drove out of the gas station, a van followed us all the way to the city borders for nearly 40 kilometers.
