RSS Feed
April 28th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
Mr Chen’s wife, Yuan Weijing, had been unable to accompany him, Mr Hu said,
because she was still suffering from injuries sustained after a beating from
the guards who have been a constant presence outside their house for the
last 20 months.
“Chen told me he had prepared for the ‘prison break’ for at least two
months. He knew the patrolling routines of the guards by heart, before
climbing over the wall around his house on Sunday night,” said Mr Hu.
“He injured his leg when he landed and it took him 20 hours to make his
way around eight roadblocks. He told me he fell over at least 200 times,
before he got picked up on Monday and driven to Beijing.”
It is believed that He Peirong, a long-time friend, drove Mr Chen to Beijing,
where he spent three sleepless nights before making his break to the US
embassy. Ms He was later detained at her home in Nanjing, in eastern Jiangsu
Province. Mr Chen’s brother and nephew were also arrested, raising
speculation that they played a part in his escape.
A self-taught legal activist who was illiterate until his early twenties, Mr
Chen is perhaps the best-known of China’s dissidents after the Nobel Peace
Prize winner Liu Xiaobo.
Mr Hu said it wasn’t until Thursday afternoon that Mr Chen reached the safety
of the US embassy in Beijing.
“He knew it would just be a matter of time before the authorities
discovered he’d escaped and that he would face unprecedented revenge if he
was re-captured,” said Mr Hu, who met Mr Chen while he was being
sheltered in Beijing by other activists and supporters. “We talked
about the various options and finally decided that the US embassy was the
only truly safe place for him since the US government were already deeply
involved in his case.
“I haven’t seen him since then but yesterday I spoke to the man who drove
him to the embassy and he told me that Chen was in ‘a very safe place’. That
says it all about where Chen is now, because we had all talked of where the
‘safe place’ is.”
His wife, mother and six-year-old daughter remain in the family home, which is
now surrounded by local authorities.
Mr Chen’s escape from house arrest was dramatically revealed to the world
after he recorded a video address to China’s premier, Wen Jiabao, condemning
the treatment of him and his family and accusing local Communist Party
officials by name. Activists sent the video to the overseas Chinese news
site Boxun.com, which posted part of it on YouTube.
American officials have refused to confirm if Mr Chen is in the embassy. But
Mr Hu said that his friend had no desire to seek political asylum in the US.
“He wants to stay in China. He thinks now is a historic moment of change
in China and he wants to take his chances and be a part of it.” Last
night there were unconfirmed reports that Mr Hu – who was awarded the
European Parliament’s Human Rights Prize in 2008 and was himself imprisoned
between 2007 and 2011 – was himself detained shortly after speaking to this
newspaper. His mobile telephone appeared to have been switched off.
Whether it will be possible for Mr Chen to remain in China is doubtful, given
what is likely to happen to him should he be returned to Chinese custody.
His escape is a huge embarrassment for China’s leaders, who are already
struggling to contain the fallout from the Bo Xilai scandal. It also poses a
problem for the US, which is trying to build closer relations with China
ahead of the country’s change of leadership later this year, when a younger
generation is due to take over the reins of power.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, has repeatedly called for Mr
Chen’s release, and it would be seen as caving into Chinese pressure should
she agree for him to be handed over to the Chinese authorities.
Some members of Congress are already unhappy that the US did not give asylum
to Wang Lijun, the Chongqing police chief who brought details of the death
of British businessman Neil Heywood, alleging that he had been murdered at
the direction of Bo’s wife.
Bob Fu, a US-based Chinese human rights campaigner and friend of Mr Chen, said
yesterday that Mr Chen was under “US protection”.
Mr Fu, who has been in touch with activists who organised Mr Chen’s escape,
claimed that senior US and Chinese officials had already held talks over his
fate.
“We have learned from a source close to the Chen Guangcheng situation
that Chen is under US protection and high level talks are currently under
way between US and Chinese officials regarding Chen’s status,” said Mr
Fu, who heads China Aid, a religious and political rights advocacy group.
“Because of Chen’s wide popularity, the Obama administration must stand
firmly with him or risk losing credibility as a defender of freedom and the
rule of law.”
The drama will overshadow a long-planned visit to Beijing this week by Mrs
Clinton and Timothy Geithner, the treasury secretary, to discuss political
and economic links between the two superpowers. The State department has
repeatedly refused any comment since news of Mr Chen’s escape emerged.
“This is very bad timing for both sides,” said an Asian affairs
expert who advises the State Department .
“It’s very embarrassing for the Chinese that Chen has escaped house
arrest and it’s very awkward for the Americans, right before then Clinton
visit, that he’s been such a high profile case for the US.”
The case has prompted fevered speculation on Chinese opposition websites and
microblogs, and one outlet claimed that Mr Chen has already been flown out
of Beijing to the US.
Others question how Mr Chen could possibly have got into the US embassy
without being prevented by Chinese guards outside.
Additional reporting by Philip Sherwell in Washington
Related posts:
Views: 0
Posted in 
Tags: 
