Wai Jia Nu: Women's Residency Rights an

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GUANGZHOU 001052 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 2032/09/18 TAGS: PHUM SOCI ECON PGOV SUBJECT: Wai Jia Nu: Women's Residency Rights an Increasingly Sensitive Issue in South China REF: Guangzhou 1050 ¶1. (U) Classified by Consul General Robert Goldberg for reason 1.4 (d). ¶2. (C) SUMMARY: Post has recently noted increasing sensitivity about the issue of land rights for married women. Though affecting only a small percentage of the local population, the "wai jia nu" issue (Reftel) has become sensitive. Forums with the goal of examining the issue and raising public awareness have been cancelled, reporters who cover the issue are now reluctant to speak with Congenoffs, and academics working for the equal treatment of women have fallen out of favor with the government. END SUMMARY Cancelled Forums and Nervous Reporters -------------- ¶3. (SBU) In March 2007, the South China University of Technology (SCUT),in cooperation with the South China Rural Newspaper, organized a forum to coincide with International Women's Day on March 8. The goal was to bring government leaders, academics and women affected by the wai jia nu (WJN) issue together to discuss ways to protect the rights of married women. As reported Reftel, wai jia nu are women who marry outside their home village and subsequently lose associated financial and other benefits when required to transfer their residency permit to their husband's place of residency. Forum organizers also sought to raise public awareness of the issue through local media. Just days before March 8, the forum organizers cancelled the event under pressure from the Guangdong provincial government. Organizers at SCUT told Congenoff they did not want to discuss the forum due to the sensitive nature of the topic. ¶4. (C) One reporter at the "South China Rural Newspaper," Feng Shan Shu (protect),who was an organizer of the cancelled forum, initially refused requests for a meeting. He later reconsidered, but said he was concerned that meeting Congenoff could cause him trouble with the authorities. Feng said that both his newspaper and the South Metropolitan newspaper have a tradition of being outspoken on social issues and have actively reported on the wai jia nu issue. Both papers belong to the same media group, and according to Feng every few years the leadership of the media group is replaced for reporting on issues deemed sensitive by the Guangdong provincial government. ¶5. (C) Feng said his paper is coming under increasing government pressure as a result of continued reporting on the WJN issue. According to Feng, reporting broadly on WJN is still acceptable, but reporting on how they are organizing themselves in pursuit of their rights is now considered sensitive. Feng said the government itself no longer uses the phrase "wai jia nu" because the term has become too sensitive, and instead employs broader, vaguer terminology. Academics also Feeling the Pressure -------------- ¶6. (C) Academics who have devoted years to protecting women's rights are also seeing a change in the political climate surrounding the wai jia nu issue. Professor Qu Ning (protect) at the Women's Professional Technical College told Congenoff that she was not familiar with the wai jia nu issue but acknowledged it was very sensitive and that people working on it were no longer able to cooperate with government agencies or entities, thus severely damaging their effectiveness as academics. ¶7. (C) Professor Lu Ying (protect) at Zhongshan University's Women and Gender Studies Center has paid a heavy price for her outspoken advocacy for women affected by this issue. Lu was the director of the Women and Gender Studies Center for six years, but this year the university asked her to step down. The Center's name was also changed from the "Research Center of Gender Equality Legislation" to its current name. Lu said the name change reflected the university's desire to focus on studying gender issues, not advocating for women's equality under the law. ¶8. (C) Lu estimated that she had helped 400 to 500 wai jia nu file petitions for the equal protection of their rights. GUANGZHOU 00001052 002 OF 002 She also played a leading role in the ill-fated attempt to establish an association in Guangzhou by WJN. The Civil Affairs Administration denied the association's application for registration. (COMMENT: The government's increased sensitivity toward the WJN issue likely stems from attempts by WJN to organize into rights-protection associations. END COMMENT.) Lu noted that her efforts on behalf of WJN have led to her falling out of favor with the government; government officials no longer seek her legal opinions. Additionally, the Guangdong Women's Federation has stopped inviting Lu to participate in their activities, even though she is still officially a member of the federation. Lu said she was surprised that her website, http://www.cwrp.net, which is an online forum for Wai Jia Nu, was still running. (NOTE: Post was unable to access the website for a two-week period following its meeting with Professor Lu. END NOTE.) ¶9. (C) Three law students who work at the Center attended Congenoff's meeting with Lu. A fourth person, who did not introduce himself, and was not permitted by Lu to take notes, was also present. COMMENT: It is unclear who this person was, but Lu's cold manner toward him -- and the fact that he was never introduced and never exchanged name cards -- makes it likely that he had been sent to monitor the meeting. END COMMENT. GOLDBERG