The Nation - News from Aug. 7, 1988

The United States is granting asylum to three Chinese couples and their families because of fear they would face persecution for violating China’s stringent family-planning policy, the Justice Department said. Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III approved requests for asylum from the three families under new department guidelines that pertain to China’s family planning program, a department spokeswoman said. Under a policy adopted in China to curb population growth, people who have more than one child may lose their membership in the Communist Party, be fired from their job and find the purchase of certain items such as fuel and agricultural supplies difficult, according to a recent State Department report.