In a land of a billion people, there are sure to be many heroes. But it must be hard to find anyone who beats Chen Guangcheng, the blind campaigner against China’s draconian one-child policy, for sheer grit and intelligence. He has defied jail, beatings, and thuggery to defend the rights of women who are forcibly aborted and sterilized. We salute his courage in today’s lead article.

Chen is making world headlines at the moment, even though both the Chinese and US governments probably wish that that he had stayed in his village weaving baskets. Less well-known are local heroes who are prepared to go to jail for their ideals. Liz Preston’s husband Graham is one of those. She writes about his experience in our second feature.

In our other two articles, Phil Elias discusses the bizarre world of justifications for same-sex marriage and Martin Shaw asks whether the Obama Administration is sincere in its vow to fight atrocities around the globe.

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Cheers,

Michael Cook,
Editor,
MercatorNet