Census takers squealing on violators of "one child" policy

Chinese Hiding From Officials After Beijing Reneges on Promise

BEIJING, NOV. 16, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- China's census takers are squealing on people who have violated the "one child" policy, going back on a promise not to use their data for such purposes, reported Agence France-Presse, citing a newspaper report.

Census takers in the southern province of Hunan provided information they had collected to family planning workers, who then charged a family the equivalent of $422 for having one child too many, according to the Hunan Commercial Post. In another case in Hunan, a family was fined by census takers for having refused to register their illegally-born child without payment, AFP said.

If the extra children are not registered, people must pay extra for education and other social services, AFP said. The incidents in Hunan have caused people to hide from census takers, the report said.

The central government had said it wanted the census to find out how many children have been born in violation of the strict one-child policy. The policy allows every couple no more than one child, except in the countryside where couples can have a second child if the first is a girl.

Couples who violate the policy are often forced into abortions. In some cases, infants have been outright killed by government workers.

Authorities had promised there would be no retribution against violators in order to ensure an accurate population count. Liu Changsong, from the national census office, said he was not aware of the Hunan incidents, AFP reported.

ZE00111722
16. november 2000