Blind Chinese Dissident Escapes House Arrest, Now Under US Protection!

[jimmy olsen]

PRC 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-17878744

China dissident Chen Guangcheng 'under US protection'

Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng is under "US protection" in Beijing following a dramatic escape from house arrest, a US-based rights group says.

The group, ChinaAid, also says high-level talks are under way between US and Chinese officials over his fate.

Earlier, fellow activist Hu Jia said Mr Chen was in the US embassy. Neither country has commented on the claims.

Mr Chen's escape could overshadow a visit to Beijing next week by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

She has repeatedly called for the dissident's release.

A statement from the Texas-based ChinaAid group said it had "learned from a source close to the Chen Guangcheng situation that Chen is under US protection" in Beijing.

The group is led by Bob Fu, an American-based human rights campaigner and friend of Mr Chen.

On Friday, Hu Jia - another friend of Mr Chen and himself a prominent activist and dissident - told the BBC he had met Mr Chen in the US embassy in Beijiing in the last 72 hours, after his escape from house arrest in the eastern province of Shandong. He said Mr Chen had scaled a high wall before being driven hundreds of kilometres to Beijing.

On Saturday, Mr Hu's wife Zeng Jinyan said on twitter that he had been taken away for questioning by local police.

Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng is under "US protection" in Beijing following a dramatic escape from house arrest, a US-based rights group says.

The group, ChinaAid, also says high-level talks are under way between US and Chinese officials over his fate.

Earlier, fellow activist Hu Jia said Mr Chen was in the US embassy. Neither country has commented on the claims.

Mr Chen's escape could overshadow a visit to Beijing next week by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

She has repeatedly called for the dissident's release.

A statement from the Texas-based ChinaAid group said it had "learned from a source close to the Chen Guangcheng situation that Chen is under US protection" in Beijing.

The group is led by Bob Fu, an American-based human rights campaigner and friend of Mr Chen.

On Friday, Hu Jia - another friend of Mr Chen and himself a prominent activist and dissident - told the BBC he had met Mr Chen in the US embassy in Beijiing in the last 72 hours, after his escape from house arrest in the eastern province of Shandong. He said Mr Chen had scaled a high wall before being driven hundreds of kilometres to Beijing.

On Saturday, Mr Hu's wife Zeng Jinyan said on twitter that he had been taken away for questioning by local police.

There are reports that his brother and nephew, and others who helped him escape, have now been detained by police.

The rights group Human Rights in China quoted a source who knew about Mr Chen, and said his nephew Chen Kegui was taken away from his home by more than 30 police officers.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said she was concerned for the well-being of Mr Chen and his family, who live in Dongshigu town, Shandong province.

"I'm disturbed to hear reports that other family members, including his brother Chen Guangfu and nephew Chen Kegui, have now been detained," she said in a statement.

Chen Guangcheng, 40, was placed under house arrest after being released from a four-year jail sentence in 2010. Reports suggest authorities only realised he had escaped on Thursday.

In his video addressed to Premier Wen, delivered from a darkened room, Mr Chen said outwitting his guards had not been easy.

In the appeal, posted online by Boxun, a Chinese dissident news website based in the United States, he asks that:

    Premier Wen investigate and prosecute local officials Mr Chen says beat up his family members
    The safety of his family be ensured
    Corruption in general in China be dealt with and punished according to the law

The Chinese authorities have come under international criticism for their treatment of him. At one point his daughter was barred from school. Many sympathisers who have tried to visit his home say they have been beaten up.

A self-schooled legal activist, Mr Chen is known for revealing rights abuses under China's one-child policy and has accused officials in Shandong province of forcing 7,000 women into abortions or sterilisations.
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He Peirong, another China-based activist who had also campaigned for Chen Guangcheng, has also been detained at her home in Nanjing, according to other activists.

The Chen affair comes at an unwelcome time for China's leaders, who have been embroiled in a lurid political scandal involving disgraced former party boss Bo Xilai.

[The Brain]

Bob Fu?

[11B4V]

Bob Fu?

I read that and thought the same thing.

[The Brain]

Some joker's gonna come around and claim to know him.

[CountDeMoney]

Meh, he's small fry to the CCP.  They'll let him go.

[Neil]

They let him go.  That's the only explanation for the ease of their escape.

[Barrister]

They let him go.  That's the only explanation for the ease of their escape.

[grumbler]

They let him go.  That's the only explanation for the ease of their escape.

[Jacob]

As I understand it, several people came forward, saying they'd helped him escaped (once they no longer knew his whereabouts), including apparently one of the people supposed to guard him. These helpers have all disappeared from the public eye, there whereabouts unknown.

[Monoriu]

They let him go.  That's the only explanation for the ease of their escape.

Nah.  From Beijing's perspective, it is far more troublesome for him to be in the US embassy.  If they let him go, they would make sure that he is exiled from China. 

It is also far too much loss of face for the security agents if they let a blind man slip away.  They can't swallow that, at least not willingly.

[Monoriu]

From what I've read in the newspaper, he had planned his escape many months in advance.  His first attempt was to dig a tunnel, but that was discovered.  He then pretended to be sick, and stayed on his bed for weeks.  The agents then assumed that it was fine even if they didn't see him for days.  He timed the guards' movements to the minute, and figured out when they would usually take tea/bathroom breaks.  After a couple of months of this, he escaped by climbing over many walls.  It was his village, not a purpose-built prison.  He injured his leg in the process, but he made it, mostly because lots of people helped drove him away once he made it out of the village. 

[Neil]

They let him go.  That's the only explanation for the ease of their escape.

Nah.  From Beijing's perspective, it is far more troublesome for him to be in the US embassy.  If they let him go, they would make sure that he is exiled from China. 

It is also far too much loss of face for the security agents if they let a blind man slip away.  They can't swallow that, at least not willingly.

You're sure the homing beacon is secure up that blind guy's ass? I'm taking an awful risk, General Liang. This had better work.

[CountDeMoney]

They let him go.  That's the only explanation for the ease of their escape.

Nah.  From Beijing's perspective, it is far more troublesome for him to be in the US embassy.  If they let him go, they would make sure that he is exiled from China. 

I dunno, Bo's police buddy back in February would've appreciated being exiled.  At least that way, he'd still be breathing.

[Razgovory]

I wonder how much the Chinese would pay for him.

[Ed Anger]

I wonder how much the Chinese would pay for him.

all the tea in China.