On Nov. 1, 2001, Gao arrived illegally in the United States. She promptly applied for permanent residence as a refugee. For more than a year she benefited from asylum in the Chinese community of New York. Early in January 2003 an immigration judge ruled against her petition to remain. Asylum may be granted because of a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, or circumstances under which a reasonable person would fear persecution. She could prove none of these things. Neither could she prove that she would be tortured if she were sent back to China. The judge ordered her deportation.

It was the prospect of brutal punishment that impressed Judge Straub in the 2nd Circuit. He reasoned that Gao enjoys the protection of what is known as the CAT, i.e., the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The judge found it plausible that under the convention, forced marriage would qualify as a form of degrading treatment.

The court thus held that international law protects this damsel in distress. "Gao belongs to a particular social group that shares more than a common gender: Gao's social group consists of women who have been sold into marriage (whether or not that marriage has yet taken place) and who live in a part of China where forced marriages are considered valid and enforceable."

Judge Straub hedged his opinion in a footnote: It was tailored to the facts in this particular case. He was not implying that all the young unmarried women in rural China are eligible for asylum if they are threatened with forced marriage.

Will the bluebird of happiness light upon the fair shoulders of Hong Yin Gao? Hard to say. Attorney General Gonzales predicts dire consequences if Judge Straub's opinion is permitted to stand. It "defies the most basic rules for judicial review of agency action"! He cites supportive cases from South Africa and Guatemala. Sixty percent of all marriages worldwide are "arranged." Will Zhi's venal desires be thwarted? Will Gao be saved from a fate worse than death? Stay tuned.