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Blind chinese activist who escaped house arrest leaves beijing forthe united states by ferujkll sdff
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Blind chinese activist who escaped house arrest leaves beijing forthe united states by FERUJKLL SDFF
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| Article Posted: 06/29/2013 |
| Article Views: 28 |
| Articles Written: 2023 - MORE ARTICLES FROM THIS AUTHOR |
| Word Count: 1097 |
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Blind chinese activist who escaped house arrest leaves beijing forthe united states |
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BEIJING – A blind Chinese legal activist was hurriedly taken from a hospitaland put on a plane for the United States on Saturday, closing anearly monthlong diplomatic tussle that had tested U.S.-Chinarelations. Chen Guangcheng, sitting in a wheelchair and accompanied by hiswife and two children, boarded United Airlines Flight 88 for the12-hour flight to Newark, outside New York City, a few hours afterChinese authorities suddenly told him to pack and prepare to leave. "Thousands of thoughts are surging to my mind," Chen said at theairport. His concerns, he said, included whether authorities wouldretaliate for his negotiated departure by punishing his relativesleft behind.
It also is unclear whether the government will allowhim to return. A self-taught legal activist, Chen asked his supporters and othersin the activist community for their understanding of his desire toleave the front lines of the rights struggle in China. "I am requesting a leave of absence, and I hope that they willunderstand," he said. The Chens' departure to the United States marks the conclusion ofnearly a month of uncertainty and years of mistreatment by localauthorities for the activist.
After seven years of prison and house arrest, Chen made a daringescape from his rural village in late April and was given sanctuaryinside the U.S. Embassy, triggering a diplomatic standoff over hisfate. With Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in Beijing forannual high-level discussions, officials struck a deal that letChen walk free, only to see him have second thoughts, forcing newnegotiations that led to an agreement to send him to the U.S. tostudy law — a goal of his — at New York University. Moments after his departure from Beijing, State Departmentspokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed that Chen was en route to theU.S.
and praised the quiet negotiations that freed him. "We are looking forward to his arrival in the United States latertoday," Nuland said in a statement. "We also express ourappreciation for the manner in which we were able to resolve thismatter and to support Mr. Chen's desire to study in the U.S.
andpursue his goals." The White House also said it was pleased with the outcome ofnegotiations between the Chinese government and the StateDepartment that allowed Chen to leave China with his family. "We are pleased at this development," said Ben Rhodes, deputynational security adviser, who spoke with reporters at Camp David,the presidential retreat where President Barack Obama is hostingthe Group of Eight summit. China's Foreign Ministry said it had no comment. The government'snews agency, Xinhua, issued a brief report saying that Chen "hasapplied for study in the United States via normal channels in linewith the law." Chen's supporters welcomed his departure.
"I think this is greatprogress," said U.S.-based rights activist Bob Fu. "It's a victoryfor freedom fighters." The 40-year-old Chen is emblematic of a new breed of activists thatthe Communist Party finds threatening. Often from rural andworking-class families, these "rights defenders," as they arecalled, are unlike the students and intellectuals from the eliteacademies and major cities of previous democracy movements and thuscould potentially appeal to ordinary Chinese. Chen gained recognition for crusading for the disabled and forfarmers' rights and fighting against forced abortions in his ruralcommunity. That angered local officials, who seemed to wage apersonal vendetta against him, convicting him in 2006 on what hissupporters say were fabricated charges and then holding him for thepast 20 months in illegal house arrest.
Even with the backstage negotiations, Chen's departure camehastily. Chen spent the last two and a half weeks in a hospitalbeing given medical treatment for the foot he broke escaping housearrest. Only on Wednesday did Chinese authorities help him completethe paperwork needed for his passport. Chen said by telephone Saturday that he was informed at thehospital just before noon to pack his bags to leave.
Officials didnot give him and his family passports or inform them of theirflight details until after they got to the airport. Seeming ambivalent, Chen said that he was "not happy" about leavingand that he had a lot on his mind, including worries aboutretaliation against his extended family back home. His nephew, ChenKegui, is accused of attempted murder after he allegedly used akitchen knife to attack officials who stormed his house afterdiscovering Chen Guangcheng was missing. "I hope that the government will fulfill the promises it made tome, all of its promises," Chen said. Such promises includedlaunching an investigation into abuses against him and his familyin Shandong province, he said before the phone call was cut off.
Chen's expected attendance at New York University comes from hisassociation with Jerome Cohen, a law professor at the universitywho advised Chen while he was in the U.S. Embassy. The two met whenthe activist went to the United States on a State Departmentprogram in 2003, and Cohen has been staunch advocate for him eversince. "I'm very happy at the news that he's on his way and I look forwardto welcoming him and his family tonight and to working with him onhis course of study," Cohen said.
Much as Chen has said he wants return to China, it remainsuncertain whether the Chinese government would bar him, as theyhave done with many exiled activists. "Chen's departure for the U.S. does not and should not in any waymark a 'mission accomplished' moment for the U.S. government," saidPhelim Kine, a senior Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch.
"Theharder, longer term part is ensuring his right under internationallaw to return to China when he sees fit." Wu'er Kaixi, an exiled dissident who is on China's list of mostwanted student leaders for the 1989 Tiananmen Squaredemonstrations, made a third unsuccessful attempt Saturday to turnhimself in at a Chinese Embassy, this time in Washington, D.C. However, Chen's friends and supporters cheered Chen's departure.Teng Biao, who had urged Chen after he left the U.S. Embassy toleave China for his personal safety, welcomed the family'sdeparture. "I feel happy that he and his family can have a normal, free lifein the United States with their safety ensured," Teng said. Nanjing activist blogger He Peirong, who picked Chen up outside hisrural village after his escape and spirited him to Beijing, said,"I hope that this will be a good beginning." ___ Associated Press videojournalist Annie Ho and reporter CharlesHutzler contributed to this report.
___ Follow Didi Tang on Twitter at https://twitter.com/tangdidi andGillian Wong at twitter.com/gillianwong. I am an expert from Special Purpose Bags & Cases, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as twin princess bed , air mattress frames.
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