Breaking China’s One Child Policy: Detailing Cai Zhiqi’s Firing From University

Breaking China’s One Child Policy: Detailing Cai Zhiqi’s Firing From University
Feb 07, 2014 By eChinacities.com

Editor’s note: On January 24 we posted an article about Cai Zhiqi, a professor at the South China University of Technology until he was fired in November for breaking China’s one-child policy. Cai and his wife have been married for 10 years and have two children. Their first child was born in America, where Cai was studying for his PhD, and has American citizenship. Their second child, while conceived in America, was born in China and has Chinese citizenship. Cai has been fighting his dismissal as he believes he hasn’t broken any laws. Seems a lot more complicated than Zhang Yimou’s misdeeds! This translated article from the Guangzhou Daily looks into the story in greater depth and includes a short interview with Cai at the end.

On January 21 at 10:00, 35 year old former South China University of Technology associate professor Cai Zhiqi and his lawyer stood together in the door of the Guangdong Province Human Resources and Social Security Department preparing to apply for an arbitration hearing from the human resources department.

They are here because the South China University of Technology faculty appeals committee sent out a written statement saying that they were upholding the decision to dismiss Cai Zhiqi. This means that the university’s internal process to decide whether or not to accept the professor’s appeal has already finished. An arbitration hearing at the provincial department will be the professor’s last chance. Cai was dismissed from the university more than 60 days ago.


Cai Zhiqi feels he has not broken China’s one-child policy
Source: Guangzhou Daily

On November 19, 2013 at 07:00, Cai received a phone call instructing him to go the university human resources department in order to receive a written decision on his case. His violation was the birth of his second daughter. He and his wife had expected this result; the investigation of his second daughter’s birth had begun back in November 2012. But on the day he received the notice, his heart was heavy.

Born in the USA

Cai lived near the school with his family and often brought his wife and two daughters to events at the university because he felt that his wife’s second pregnancy “was evident.”

On National Day, 2003, Wenzhou resident and Zhejing University graduate Cai Zhiqi married his classmate when they both were 24 years old. In June 2007, Cai and his 28 year old pregnant wife moved to the United States so that he could pursue a PhD in chemistry from Ohio University. That year, they welcomed their first daughter, Lingling. Lingling, having been born in the United States, obtained U.S. citizenship.

Just before 2009, right before the family’s return home to China, his wife fell pregnant again. After Cai returned to China and took up his post at the South China University of Technology, his second daughter, Doudou was born. Now, Cai and his wife still remain Zhejiang residents. To deal with the birth quota, they did not include Doudou in the Hangzhou residence registration.
In the second half of 2012, after working at the university in a temporary post for more than half a year, Cai received a phone call from the from the school leader telling him that they had received reports detailing the existence of his second child and his violation of the family planning policy. At the time of the call, Cai believed that he was able to explain the matter away. The next day, he contacted a lawyer he had met in America while studying abroad and submitted a written explanation of his situation to the school.

National or Local Laws?

Cai and his lawyer argued that, according to the 2002 National Family Planning Committee’s policies on childbirths while abroad, his second daughter was legal. Cai and his wife both lived abroad for one year or more while he was studying, and his wife both gave birth for the first time and got pregnant for the second time while they were abroad before they returned to China. Because of these circumstances, the existence of his second child should be disregarded on his return to China. Cai’s first daughter was born in a foreign country and his second daughter has a legitimate birth certificate in China. Furthermore, in accordance with the National Family Planning Committee provisions, because 4 year old Doudou was conceived in America, her birth was legal.

South China University of Technology’s campus family planning offices responded to this case. The campus office stated that on December 2012 they received a report about Cai’s conduct, and that having a second child that exceeds the stipulated limit of family planning policy, is a serious violation. According to various Guangdong family planning regulations, those who exceed China’s one-child policy and illegally have a second child may not be employed for five years.

Cai and his lawyer argued that the national law citing provisions for childbirths while studying abroad should be held superior to local laws and regulations.

To this, South China University of Technology’s internal appeals committee responded that the school had not made an error when citing applicable laws. Even though Cai Zhiqi and his wife were living in the United States for over a year, his wife was simply accompanying her husband while he was studying overseas and was not classified as a foreign student. Meaning that the national laws relating to childbirths abroad do not apply in her case.

Cai has said that despite his experiences with this matter, he still believes that the world has many good people. Guangdong and China, are still “reasonable” places. Even if he loses the case and his job in the end, he still wants to live in Guangzhou.

Putting his wife first

It seems that Cai had the option to go quietly and simply get another job at a different school. However, this would have meant his wife giving up her PhD studies at the South China University of Technology, so they decided to stay and fight the ruling.

Guangzhou Daily: What do you think the reason was for the report on your second child?

Cai Zhiqi: It’s not clear. Someone told me that if you act very ordinary about it then many people will not pay attention to you or report you. However there are always others who will label you or report you.

GD: Do you feel that the report stemmed from academic competition within the university?

Cai: I have never thought about this. I have never been a part of competition for administrative posts. Although the college did intend to recommend me for tenure, I had never considered this aspect.

GD: Have you discussed the consequences of being fired with your wife?

Cai: We have discussed this many times and analyzed the pros and cons. I had done a lot of careful meticulous work for the school, and they advised me to leave voluntarily because of pressure from the family planning policy. After I left early from the university I would be able to choose another university to work at and continue my life. However, the school recommended I go find another job outside of Guangdong Province. Because of this, I went to other provinces to find work and got another job offer also in the research field, with good conditions. When I was preparing to transfer to the new position, the school told me my wife also had to leave her post as a PhD student. I wanted to allow my wife to continue studying for her doctorate degree. That was my main principle. After that, the school and I stopped talking.

GD: Why did you choose to be dismissed rather than have your wife change schools for her PhD?

Cai: I think the right of my wife to earn her degree is more important than my job. For this PhD course, she studied to take the entrance exam for two years. She did not pass the first time. She spent a lot of energy studying English and other specialty courses. We’ve been married for over ten years, and have experienced many trails and hardships. She was employed in Zhejiang to do research three years after she graduated, but because of me she gave up her job to come to the United States. After we returned home together to China, she gave birth again to another child. She sacrificed a lot for the family. I think that she should cherish the opportunity to continue her studies. My wife’s parents both hope that she is able to once again persevere. 

GD: If your appeal is successful would you still want to return to the classroom to teach?

Cai: (pauses for 10 seconds), I think that I still would want to return. I feel that I have conducted myself with integrity and strength. My heart is very calm and I do not feel disgraced. While teaching, I have not given inappropriate or unsuitable opinions and I have not misappropriated funds while researching. I have strict demands for ethics in my own and my students’ papers and do not plagiarize. While working in my temporary post in Zhejiang I have not received anything inappropriate in strict accordance with the demands of the discipline inspection commission. I feel that I have displayed strength and discipline, I would not be worried if I am able to return.

Source: gzdaily.dayoo.com

Warning:The use of any news and articles published on eChinacities.com without written permission from eChinacities.com constitutes copyright infringement, and legal action can be taken.

Keywords: Breaking China’s One Child Policy One Child Policy Laws in China; South China University of Technology; family planning laws; Cai Zhiqi

4 Comments

All comments are subject to moderation by eChinacities.com staff. Because we wish to encourage healthy and productive dialogue we ask that all comments remain polite, free of profanity or name calling, and relevant to the original post and subsequent discussion. Comments will not be deleted because of the viewpoints they express, only if the mode of expression itself is inappropriate.

Corflamum

What I can't get over is that you lose your right to work for five years if you have a second child... isn't that self defeating? The whole point of the One-Child Policy is that you prevent them from being a burden to society, but five years of unemployment would pretty much guarantee that the family would become wards of the state. I don't understand why Chinese laws are so shortsighted and punitive...

Feb 07, 2014 13:44 Report Abuse

GuestBob

That's in the public sector only, the article should note that but it doesn't.

Feb 09, 2014 16:03 Report Abuse

Englteachted

The only thing I get from this article is that it is way too easy for someone get US citizenship. Children of visitors and temporary residents should be ineligible for American citizenship they should maintain the citizenship of their parents' home country.

Feb 07, 2014 02:59 Report Abuse

coineineagh

give them a break. nationality gained from birth within the territories is not always unjust. i was born in britain in 1982 of a dutch mother. my biological father is scottish, but does not recognize me as his child by law. thankfully i could obtain my british passport based on territorial law. in 1983 the laws changed. the anchor babies story has been done to death in the US, but as evidence points out (myself and lingling), a foreign passport is not always (ab)used to settle in a country.

Feb 07, 2014 07:22 Report Abuse