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发帖数: 18319 | 1 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/20/world/asia/chen-guangcheng-se
Blind Chinese Dissident Leaves on Flight for U.S.
By ANDREW JACOBS
Published: May 19, 2012
BEIJING — Chen Guangcheng, the blind legal defender who made a dramatic
escape from house arrest and whose decision to seek refuge in United States
Embassy jolted American-Sino relations, left China aboard a commercial
flight bound for Newark on Saturday.
Mr. Chen and his family departed around 5:30 pm on United Airlines flight
after facing earlier delays. The Chens, accompanied by American officials,
were brought on to the plane shortly before takeoff and seated in the
business class cabin. Flight attendants drew a curtain around their seats
and barred other passengers in the cabin from using the toilet while the
plane was on the runway.
The State Department confirmed their departure and in a statement obliquely
praised the Chinese government for their cooperation in resolving what had
become a diplomatic headache for both sides. “We also express our
appreciation for the manner in which we were able to resolve this matter and
to support Mr. Chen’s desire to study in the U.S. and pursue his goals,”
Victoria Nuland , a State Department spokeswoman said.
Speaking by cell phone before he boarded the flight, Mr. Chen told friends
he was excited to leave China but that he was also worried about the fate of
relatives left behind. “He’s happy to finally have a rest after seven
years of suffering but he’s also worried they will suffer some retribution,
” said Bob Fu, president of ChinaAid, a Christian advocacy group in Texas
that championed his case.
Mr. Fu, who spoke to Mr. Chen several times on Saturday, said the family had
no idea they were leaving — or where they were going — until officials
notified them to pack up their few belongings.
They were driven directly to Beijing International Airport by employees of
Chaoyang Hospital, where Mr. Chen was being treated for intestinal problems
and for the foot he broke during his scurry to freedom. Mr. Chen told
friends he and his family were handed their passports by Chinese officials
shortly before they boarded the plane.
The family waited for their flight in an area separated from other
passengers. Airline officials increased security on the flight and reporters
were told they would not be able to speak to Mr. Chen during the 13-hour
trip to Newark.
One of China’s best known dissidents, Mr. Chen, 40, made a daring escape
last month from home confinement, scaling walls and evading the dozens of
guards who were charged with keeping him and his family locked up in their
Shandong Province farmhouse.
With the help of Chinese activists, he made his way to Beijing, and three
days later, into the American diplomatic compound. During 30 hours of tense
negotiations between American and Chinese officials, Mr. Chen rejected the
idea of asylum and insisted that he wanted to stay in China — as long as he
and his family could be shielded from further persecution. Exile, he feared
, might silence his voice as an advocate for legal reform in China.
A deal was reached, but Mr. Chen grew fearful and changed his mind in the
hours after leaving the embassy. A fresh crisis ensued — with critics
accusing the Obama administration of pressuring him to leave the compound —
and another agreement was quickly forged. The deal, announced May 4,
allowed Mr. Chen to attend New York University Law School on a fellowship.
The American embassy purchased the tickets but will reimbursed by New York
University, said a source with knowledge of the arrangements. An embassy
spokesman declined to comment on Saturday.
The story of Mr. Chen’s tribulations, and his unlikely escape from
draconian house arrest, has riveted much of the world, even as censors kept
the news from ordinary citizens in China.
A self-taught lawyer blinded by childhood illness, he was once toasted by
the state media for his advocacy of the disabled and the disenfranchised.
His wife, Yuan Weijing , would read aloud to him legal documents and help
with court filings.
But in 2005, he ran into trouble with the authorities by organizing a class-
action lawsuit on behalf of thousands of women in Shandong who had been
subjected to forced abortions and sterilizations. A year later, a court sent
him to prison for more than four years on charges that were widely seen as
spurious.
Although technically a free man after his release in September 2010, Mr.
Chen encountered a new round of restrictions. Local officials, with the
backing of provincial authorities, turned his home into a makeshift prison,
with surveillance cameras, hired thugs and cell phone jamming equipment
ensuring he was cut off from the outside world.
In a homemade video that was smuggled out of Dongshigu village last year and
posted on the Internet, the couple detailed the indignities of their
detention. Local officials responded with a vicious round of beatings that
Mr. Chen said left them with lingering injuries.
The cordon also kept out visitors, including the journalists, diplomats and
freelance Chinese activist who were violently repelled when the tried to
enter the village.
His entry into the embassy, aided by American officials who evaded pursuing
security agents, infuriated Chinese leaders, who accused Washington of
meddling in its domestic affairs. The diplomatic crisis was compounded by a
deadline: the imminent arrival of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
and other top officials for previously scheduled talks in the capital.
Kevin Drew contributed reporting from Hong Kong. | g*******a
发帖数: 31586 | | n****r
发帖数: 1568 | 3 So let's say, he gets off his ass and starts to apply for food stamp. This
money fucker doesn't have any skills.I have to pay my tax to feed him and his
family.
Why didn't they send him to some other countries? Tell me about it.... | e*********n
发帖数: 4599 | 4 。。。同情心到哪里去了，
his
【在 n****r 的大作中提到】
: So let's say, he gets off his ass and starts to apply for food stamp. This
: money fucker doesn't have any skills.I have to pay my tax to feed him and his
: family.
: Why didn't they send him to some other countries? Tell me about it....
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