No information on the treatment of pregnant, unmarried women in Guangdong in 2001 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, academics consulted for this Response provided the following information based on their research on China prior to 2001.

Although he had no specific information on pregnant, unmarried women, a professor of Geography at the University of Saskatchewan who has researched China's one-child policy in Guangdong Province stated that, "Guangdong, due to its proximity to Hong Kong, has not been subject to the same severe one-child policy as might have been the case in China's other provinces" and that, particularly in Guangdong's rural areas, "the official one-child policy has been rather lax" (31 Oct. 2001).

A scholar who has researched and co-authored articles on family planning and China's one-child policy in Guangdong Province stated that the policy of the central government is to encourage pregnant, unwed women to terminate their pregnancy in light of China's one-child policy, however, in practice, local governments implement the policy differently depending on the regional situation (1 Nov. 2001).

The implementation of the population policy has varied across the province of Guangdong (ibid.). Some areas are very strict and some are lenient, however, in general, local governments are expected to comply with the policies of the central government (ibid.). Guangdong has a large number of migrant labourers, which means that local governments are not able to oversee their populations as strictly as in other provinces (ibid.). This, coupled with recent reforms and the influence of the West, has meant a more lenient attitude in general (ibid.).

Unwed, pregnant women who do not want an abortion, but instead decide to have the baby might be able to pay the local government officials or the medical doctor to "look the other way" and allow the pregnancy to be carried to term (ibid.).

It must be noted that the scholar stated that he had not been in the province for ten years and that information provided may be at odds with recent developments in Guangdong (ibid.).

According to a professor of Sociology at Brown University whose area of research includes China's one-child policy, each local region in China is subject to birth quotas (31 Oct. 2001). As unmarried women are ineligible for the quota, the professor felt that, if such a woman were to become pregnant then an abortion would most probably be encouraged (ibid.). The professor also noted that, as in many cultures, there is some shame involved in pregnancies outside of marriage and that because of the economic difficulties of raising a child alone, many women would seek an abortion as a matter of choice (ibid.).

A professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia who is affiliated with the Institute of Asian Research, stated that, generally such pregnancies are not approved under China's one-child policy and because of regional quotas, pregnancies outside of marriage would be looked upon unfavourably and the woman would be encouraged to abort (31 Oct. 2001). However, the professor stressed that such a decision would be case specific and such factors as the individual's age, whether they are living in a rural or urban setting, and whether the woman is working or not, would play a determining factor in the final outcome (ibid.).

A 21 July 2000 article, referencing a paper based on statistics from the Beijing Maternity Hospital, stated that unmarried women represent half of all women seeking abortions (Xinhua 21 July 2000; IPPF Jan. 2000) and 14 per cent were under the age of 20 (Xinhua 21 July 2000).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). January 2000. He Xiangyan. "ICPD + 5 - Development and Challenges in China." People and Development. Vol. 6, No. 12. http://mirror.ippf.org/regions/eseaor/pdc/vol16no12/icpdchina.htm [Accessed 31 Oct. 2001]

Professor of Geography. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. 31 October 2001. Correspondence.

Professor of Sociology. University of British Columbia, Vancouver. 31 October 2001. Telephone interview.

Professor of Sociology. Brown University, Providence. 31 October 2001. Telephone interview.

Scholar. Ottawa. 1 November 2001. Telephone interview.

Xinhua [Beijing, in English]. 21 July 2000. "Inadequate Sex Education, Teen Pregnancies Arouse Concern in China." (FBIS-CHI-2000-0721)

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB databases

LEXIS/NEXIS

Women's International Network News

Oral sources:

Several academic sources were unable to provide information

Centre for Gender and Refugee Studies was unable to provide information within the constraints of this response

The Centre for Reproductive Law and Policy was unable to provide information within the constraints of this response

Internet sites including:

Amnesty International

China Daily

China Internet Information Centre

Human Rights in China

Human Rights Watch

People's Daily Online

Reproductive Health for Refugees Consortium

South China Morning Post

UNIFEM

Women's Human Rights Net

World Health Organization

World News Connection