Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07GUANGZHOU1052
2007-09-18 05:37:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Guangzhou
Cable title:  

Wai Jia Nu: Women's Residency Rights an

Tags:  PHUM SOCI ECON PGOV 
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VZCZCXRO0007
RR RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHGZ #1052/01 2610537
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 180537Z SEP 07
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6476
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
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

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