Sun lived in Xiapu County near Fuzhou and worked on a farm. She was the mother of two boys. Birth-control officials had failed to persuade Sun to accept voluntary sterilization, and later dragged her from her home and drove off with her. Hours later her family was notified that she was dead. Upon inspection of her corpse they found numerous large bruises.
In China government officials assume the authority to decide who can reproduce and how often. These decisions are enforced by giving birth-control officials the powers to perform involuntary surgery on women. It is estimated that over 100 million forced sterilizations and unwanted abortions have been performed.