I think I'll be writing about Chen Guangcheng, a political prisoner in China. He is a blind, self-taught lawyer that reported the local government of a town he lived nearby for infringing on women's rights. Because of the One-Child Policy, many of the women that had recently had children were not allowed to have children. The local government in Linyi held a town ultrasound, where women are subjected to an ultrasound to check for pregnancy. They enforced the One-Child Policy harshly and illegally, and subjected thousands of women to be sterilized or forced to abort the child. Some women who were there were well into their pregnancy. After women from Linyi went to Chen Guangcheng, he attempted to help them and reported this incident to a higher level in the government. Afterwards, he was kidnapped and beatten by Linyi's government personnel. Because of the lack of response, many citizens from Linyi and Chen Guangcheng marched in protest. Since then, Chen Guangcheng has been subjected to beatings, and is now in jail for intentional property damage, and for organizing people to block traffic. There are other lawyers that have tried to join the cause, and are also in the Linyi provence jail. He has been recognized by many organizations, including Time magazine as one of the top 100 people that will shape our world, and have been given awards. I believe that the US government and the UN could pay more attention to this area, because I feel this is a battle they can win. The Chinese government is currently under more scruitny than ever, and this could create very good PR for them, and I think they would take the effort to do so if nudged into that direction.
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I think the issue about Chen Guangcheng is a very interesting issue to be writing about. I'm glad you gave a lot of background information because I have never heard about him or that he is a political prisoner in China. I think it is very interesting that he was recognized by Time as one of the top 100 people who will shape our world. I do agree that the UN and US government should pay more attention to this however I am not sure if this is a battle they could win. Even though China is under a lot of scrutiny right now, it is still a communist country. I do believe there should be more in the news about this topic to make the public aware of what is happening.
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