A landmark case in China granted Kim Lee a divorce from her husband on the grounds of domestic abuse -- a topic seldom discussed there. Kim Lee joined HuffPost Live from Beijing, China, and spoke to host Abby Huntsman about the violence she was subjected to by her Chinese husband, Li Yang.
"He sat on my back and hit my head into the floor 10 or 12 times," said Lee, "It was extreme violence. Any type of violence is unacceptable, but it was extreme." Instead of denying the violence, her husband spoke publicly about the abuse in interviews. Lee quoted that "his exact words were 'yes, I beat her sometimes but I never thought she'd go to the police, because that's not what Chinese women do.'"
Lee's main impetus for bringing attention to the issue was to ensure her daughters were able to be raised in a safe environment, regardless of issues around culture, saying "no-one has a right to beat them, and no one has a right to infringe on their health or mental state. They have a right to live an equal life free of violence, and no societal cliches of 'don't air your dirty laundry in public' or 'this isn't your culture' should keep them silent."
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