The case of Chinese human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng, who recently escaped house arrest, presents a “pivotal test for freedom in China and for U.S. credibility as a defender of freedom,” Bob Fu of the ChinaAid Association said.
President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have been careful not to speak in clear support of Chen, who climbed over the back wall of his home April 22 and reportedly sought refuge with the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
Chen, a 40-year-old self-trained lawyer who has been blind since childhood, was imprisoned and then placed under house arrest for exposing forced abortions and unwanted sterilizations under China’s one-child policy.
“We recognize that President Obama and Secretary Clinton are in a delicate situation and the wrong word may cause problems,” Fu said in a statement April 30. “Our first priority is to protect Chen and his family, but it would be inspiring to hear an unqualified and spirited defense of freedom instead of dry diplomatic calculation.”
Obama “sidestepped” a question about Chen on April 30, ABC News said, refusing to confirm reports that the United States is protecting him.
In a dramatic testimony by phone to a U.S. House committee May 3, Chen, speaking from a hospital, made clear he wants to come to the United States and that he fears for his family’s safety.
Chen reiterated to CNN that he left the U.S. Embassy in order to receive medical care and reunite with his wife and two children at a Beijing hospital.
Chen had originally expressed a desire to remain in China but later told CNN that his family’s only hope for freedom is to leave China.
“I want to come to the U.S. to rest. I have not had a rest in 10 years,” Chen said, according to a translation as reported by Reuters. “I’m really scared for my other family members’ lives.”
Chen expressed frustration to CNN that during his time in the hospital he had been unable to make contact with U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R.-N.J., a longtime supporter.
Smith has been working to secure Chen’s safety for years, and the Chinese Embassy has blocked his request for a visa to visit Chen since last October.
Smith, chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, held an emergency hearing on Chen on May 3 in Washington. Fu, of the Texas-based ChinaAid Association, and Reggie Littlejohn, of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, were among those that testified.
Littlejohn said in a statement that the United States “should immediately grant asylum” to Chen and his family as well as to He Peirong, the activist who rescued him. Littlejohn also confirmed May 4 that Peirong had been released from detention.
The deal that the United States helped broker with China regarding Chen included his safe relocation to another part of China, said Gary Locke, U.S. ambassador to China.
On May 4 the Chinese government noted that Chen may apply to travel to the United States to study.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Chen has been offered a fellowship from an American university “where he can be accompanied by his wife and two children.”
USA Today identified New York University as the American institution.
“The Chinese government has indicated that it will accept Mr. Chen’s applications for appropriate travel documents,” Nuland said.
“The United States government would then give visa requests for him and his immediate family priority attention,” Nuland added. “This matter has been handled in the spirit of a cooperative U.S.-China partnership.”
Clinton told reporters in Beijing, “I’m pleased that today our ambassador has spoken with him … our embassy staff and our doctor had a chance to meet with him and he confirms that he and his family now want to go to the Untied States so he can pursue his studies.”
(BP, CNN)
Share with others: