Diplomacy & Dissent

Chinese activist leaves U.S. Embassy on 'own volition'

By Jethro Mullen, CNN

updated 8:32 AM EDT, Wed May 2, 2012


Human rights activist [Handsome] Chen Guangcheng appears on YouTube after slipping away from house arrest.
Beijing (CNN) -- A Chinese human rights activist who escaped house arrest and took refuge in the U.S. Embassy in Beijing left for a hospital Wednesday, opening a new chapter in the life of a man at the center of a controversy between the United States and China.

Chen Guangcheng's presence in the U.S. Embassy prompted a flurry of diplomatic activity between the United States and China. It threatened to overshadow U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's scheduled meetings with senior Chinese leaders this week.

The situation has presented a complex test for the Obama administration's approach to relations with China, creating a strain between upholding human rights and maintaining steady ties with Beijing.

Chen departed the embassy "of his own volition" after spending six days there, reported Xinhua, the state-run Chinese news agency. He will be treated at a medical facility in the Chinese capital, where he will be reunited with his family, a senior U.S. official said.


Clinton was the first person who called Chen after he left the embassy, a U.S. official said, Chen said to Clinton, in broken English, "I want to kiss you," the official said.

Clinton said she's pleased that U.S. officials "were able to facilitate" Chen's "stay and departure from the U.S. Embassy in a way that reflected his choices and our values."

"I was glad to have the chance to speak with him today and to congratulate him on being reunited with his wife and children," she said in a statement.

U.S. officials briefing reporters Wednesday said China acknowledged that Chen will be treated humanely.

Chinese officials have guaranteed that no further legal issues will be directed at Chen and that reports of mistreatment against him will be investigated, a U.S. official said.

He has made clear that he wants to stay in China and so will be moved to a "safe environment" away from the province where he was kept under house arrest, another U.S. official said.

Chen may attend a university.

"Mr. Chen has a number of understandings with the Chinese government about his future, including the opportunity to pursue higher education in a safe environment. Making these commitments a reality is the next crucial task," Clinton said.

"The United States government and the American people are committed to remaining engaged with Mr. Chen and his family in the days, weeks, and years ahead."

China, meanwhile, demanded an apology from the United States for its handling of the situation. Liu Weimin, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said in comments reported by the state-run news agency Xinhua, called the U.S. activity "interference in Chinese domestic affairs, and this is totally unacceptable to China,"

"China demands that the U.S. apologize over this, thoroughly investigate this incident, punish those who are responsible and give assurances that such incidents will not recur," Liu said.

Chen, a blind, self-taught lawyer, evaded guards last month who had kept him under house arrest for more than 18 months in a small eastern village. He was confined to his home after serving four years in prison, apparently over his legal advocacy for what he called victims of abusive practices such as forced abortions by China's family planning officials.


[They march like robots in a hurry...]
He made his way to Beijing on April 22, moving from safe house to safe house before finding refuge at the U.S. Embassy. Friends and fellow activists had raised concerns about his health.

Publicly, the U.S. and Chinese authorities had skirted around the subject of Chen before Wednesday.

President Barack Obama stayed tight-lipped on the matter when asked about it Monday, saying simply that "every time we meet with China, the issue of human rights comes up."

An editorial published Wednesday on the English language website of the Global Times -- a sister publication of the People's Daily, which is the ruling Communist Party's official newspaper -- addressed the subject of the activist.

"In the Western media, Chen is a hot potato for Chinese authorities," the newspaper said. "Now he is making Washington uncomfortable."

It sought to play down the situation's significance for U.S.-Chinese relations, saying the talks this week are "unlikely to dwell on him."

But many activists and commentators have underscored the importance of the issue.

"This is a pivotal moment for U.S. human rights diplomacy," said Bob Fu, president of ChinaAid, a Texas-based Christian human rights organization. He was quoted in a ChinaAid statement Sunday.

The situation is all the more complicated for Clinton, who has advocated Chen's case in the past.

After her arrival in Beijing on Wednesday, she went straight to her hotel without briefing reporters. She has no official engagements until a dinner in the evening with State Councilor Dai Bingguo, a senior foreign policy leader in China.

Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are due to hold talks with their Chinese counterparts in Beijing starting Thursday about strategic and economic issues.

Chen's flight from detention comes at a highly sensitive time for Chinese authorities. The Communist Party has been rocked by a scandal involving former high-ranking leader Bo Xilai, whose wife is under investigation in relation to the mysterious death of a British businessman in the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing.

The downfall of Bo, the former Chongqing party chief who is now being investigated in connection with serious disciplinary violations, has created shock waves ahead of a once-in-a-decade leadership transition in China that is due to unfold this year.


Chen, 40, addressed Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in a video posted Friday on YouTube, detailing "cruel" abuses he said he and his family had suffered at the hands of authorities during months of heavily guarded detention in their home.

"They broke into my house, and more than a dozen men assaulted my wife," he said. "They pinned her down and wrapped her in a comforter, beating and kicking her for hours. They also similarly violently assaulted me."

Journalists and supporters were prevented from visiting Chen during his house arrest. One of those supporters is Hollywood actor Christian Bale, who was roughed up by security guards while attempting a visit in December.

A local court sentenced Chen to four years and three months in prison in 2006 on charges of damaging property and "organizing a mob to disturb traffic" in a protest, charges that his supporters called preposterous.

Since his September 2010 release from prison, he had been confined to his home along with his wife, mother and daughter.

Chen's escape appears to have angered local officials holding him captive, with supporters saying that at least four members of his family have been detained.

In the YouTube video, the activist appealed to the Chinese premier to investigate his case and expressed concern about the welfare of his wife, mother and daughter.

"Although I'm free, my worries are only deepening," he said. "They have been persecuting my family for a long time, and my escape would only prompt them into a mode of revenge."

CNN journalists who attempted to visit Chen's home village of Dongshigu in Shandong province on Tuesday were followed and harassed by men in an unmarked car.

The authorities' reaction also seems to have ensnared some of Chen's supporters, especially those suspected of aiding his escape.

CNN's Jaime FlorCruz, Stan Grant and Steven Jiang contributed to this report.