Per Xinhua via Reuters:
More: Chen Guangcheng left the US Embassy in Beijing of his own volition after being there for 6 days - Xinhua via @Reuters
Per Xinhua via Reuters:
More: Chen Guangcheng left the US Embassy in Beijing of his own volition after being there for 6 days - Xinhua via @Reuters
And apparently it is the American's fault when a Chinese person thinks the safest place in China is the US embassy (from CNN):
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.
I wonder whether Chen left the embassy out of fear of what would be done to his wife and child by the Chinese authorities.
It doesn't seem possible that he genuinely could have been so daft as to trust the government's assurances that he would be treated as a normal citizen if he left the US embassy.
He would probably get the same 'vacation style' treatment Wang Li Jun (Bo Xi Lai's former henchman and would-be defector) got and disappear from the face of the earth.
Sadly, you are right, DG.
Per the AP
More from CNN.More: Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng tells @AP he was told Chinese officials would have killed his wife had he not left embassy - @AP
Ugh. If only he had (1.) been able to take his wife and child with him when he escaped and (2.) run for a land border / waiting fishing boat instead of to the US embassy.
I'm not blaming Chen Guangcheng. I am sure that he did the best that he could under impossible circumstances and is basically sacrificing himself in hopes of mitigating his family's punishment.
Maybe this was his endgame - to go out with his guns ablaze and become the symbol of a cause.
-He must have known what fate awaited his friends and family if he escaped.
-He might have guessed the U.S. might not be in a position to airlift him to safety.
-He may have timed this escape to coincide with Hilary Clinton's visit to put both the US and China in the spotlight.
-Maybe with the world-wide attention he's untouchable (or less touchable).
-He is taking up the mantle of Ang Sung Suu Kyi and Nelson Mandela.
Lots of contradicting info out there right now . . .
Per the AP:
Per Reuters:More: Chen Guangcheng says he now wants to leave China, fears for his family's safety - @AP
Full article here.Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng left the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on Wednesday after winning striking concessions from Communist Party authorities that will keep him as a pivotal figure in China-U.S. relations.
Both reported within the last hour.