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The escape of a Chinese activist championed by Washington and nowsaid to be under US protection is hugely embarrassing for Beijingand comes at the worst possible time ahead of US-China talks,analysts say. Both countries have maintained absolute silence on the whereaboutsof 40-year-old blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng since his audaciousflight from house arrest eight days ago, underscoring the extremesensitivity of his case. Friends of Chen, who served four years in jail after exposingrights abuses under China's "one-child" policy, say he is holed upin the US embassy but is not seeking US asylum, raising the spectreof a drawn-out diplomatic wrangle. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is due in Beijing onWednesday for high-level talks with Chinese leaders, has repeatedlycriticised China's treatment of the activist and demanded hisrelease from house arrest. "The timing really couldn't be any worse," said Jean-PierreCabestan, China expert at Hong Kong Baptist University. "There is a shared code of silence. It is in both countries'interests to minimise the affair and separate it from the rest.That is why they have not confirmed anything, and are keeping a lowprofile." Washington has reportedly dispatched senior US diplomat KurtCampbell to Beijing to try to contain the looming crisis ahead ofthe annual economic and political talks between the two worldpowers, scheduled for Thursday and Friday. But resolving the issue before the talks -- expected to coverChina-US cooperation on such highly sensitive global problems asIran, Syria and North Korea -- will be a huge diplomatic challenge. The fate of the self-taught legal activist, who has been blind fromchildhood, has made headlines around the world and observers saidit would be unthinkable for the United States to release him intothe hands of the Chinese. "Everyone recognises that he is a victim, someone highlyrespected," said Beijing-based China expert Michel Bonnin, addingthat Chen was unlikely to be easily persuaded to go into exile --the solution most likely to be acceptable to Beijing. "Dissidents can do nothing to advance their cause from abroad," hesaid. If he is unwilling to leave the country, the United States might beforced to keep Chen in the embassy indefinitely -- a constantreminder in Beijing of the government's loss of face. Analysts said the only other likely scenario -- a guarantee fromChina that it will respect the rights of Chen and his family if heleaves US protection -- was unlikely. Cabestan said the United States was "playing for time" while itsought a solution to the thorny question of what to do with Chen,with Beijing likely furious at the way the situation has turnedout. "But what can they (Chinese) do? They can't very well go in and gethim," he added. Chen's flight to the US embassy is particularly sensitive forBeijing because it comes just months after Wang Lijun, formerright-hand man of disgraced leader Bo Xilai, went to a US consulateand reportedly asked for asylum. Wang is said to have handed documents that incriminated Bo to USofficials, leading to the downfall of one of the country'shighest-profile leaders and sparking the biggest political drama tohit the ruling Communist party in years. "This (the Chen affair) will affect not only the relations betweenChina and the United States, but also the image of China after theBo Xilai affair," said Cabestan. The last time a Chinese dissident sought refuge in the US embassywas in 1989. Fang Lizhi, an academic and supporter of that year's TiananmenSquare pro-democracy demonstrations, remained at the embassy for ayear before leaving in 1990 for exile in the United States with hiswife. The United States' refusal to hand him over to the Chineseauthorities sparked a major row. Human Rights Watch analyst Phelim Kline said the Chen affair wasthe "diplomatic equivalent of a slow-motion car crash". "Ensuring the protection of Chen Guangcheng, his family andsupporters from official reprisals will require a degree offlexibility and artful diplomacy that the Chinese government may beunable or unwilling to conjure," he said. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Tablet Protective Case , China MID Tablet PC 9.7, and more. For more , please visit Slate 8 Inch Android Touch Tablet today!
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