Doctors in the south of China are reportedly working 24/7 to reach a government goal of sterilising 10,000 men and women who have violated the nation's family planning policies. The authorities are so determined that the relatives of those who resist the policy have been detained. 

Around 1,300 people are being held in Puning county in Guangdong Province in cramped conditions, in an attempt by officials to put pressure on couples who have had illegal children to come forward to be sterilised. 

The campaign aims to achieve 9,559 sterilisations over 20 days in Puning, the most populous county in the province with 2.24 million residents. One doctor in the village of Daba said that he and his team have been working almost nonstop, from the first sterilisation at 8am one day to the last at 4am the following day. The detained relatives of those who refuse sterilisation are forced to listen to lectures that limit the size of families. 

A Puning Population and Family Planning Bureau official told The Global Times: "It's not uncommon for family planning authorities to adopt some tough tactics." Other coercive strategies used in Puning include rejecting building permits applied for by families who have illegal children, and refusing residency registration for illegal children, which denies them access to education and healthcare. ~ London Times, Apr 17