# Blind Chinese activist lands in U.S. to begin new life after fleeing Beijing Read more: http://www.



## LGriffin (Apr 2, 2009)

Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has landed in the U.S. after being quickly bundled out of Beijing in a secretive operation.
The iconic dissident's arrival at his new home in New York on Saturday evening apparently brings to an end a bizarre diplomatic fight which started when he sought sanctuary at the American embassy in China.
Chen was ordered to pack his bags on Saturday morning and was bundled from hospital without being told where he was going. He was given a passport and flight details only on arrival at Beijing airport.
The dissident, his wife and their two children left late on Saturday afternoon on United Airlines Flight 88, arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport later in the evening.









Arrival: Chen Guangcheng, accompanied by NYU professor Jerome Cohen, addresses the media outside his new home in New York









Relief: Chen's arrival brings a long-running diplomatic saga to an end

The activist apparently had no input in his departure, which was hastily arranged by Chinese and American officials.
Dressed in a white shirt and khaki pants and using crutches, his right leg in a cast, Chen was greeted with cheers when he arrived at the apartment in Manhattan's Greenwich Village where he will live with his family.
*The complex houses faculty and graduate students of New York University, where Chen is expected to attend law school.* 
'For the past seven years, I have never had a day's rest,' he said through a translator, 'so I have come here for a bit of recuperation for body and in spirit.'
Chen urged the crowd to fight against injustice, and thanked the U.S. and Chinese governments, along with the embassies of Switzerland, Canada and France.
'After much turbulence, I have come out of Shandong,' he said, referring to the Chinese province where he was under house arrest. The U.S. has granted him partial citizenship rights, he said.









Injured: Chen, who is blind, has walked with crutches since hurting his foot during his daring escape to the U.S. embassy in Beijing









Departure: Chen on the sky bridge immediately before boarding the plane at Beijing international airport
Chen's dramatic escape from house arrest in northeastern China last month, and bid for protection at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, caused huge embarrassment for China, and led to a diplomatic rift while U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was visiting Beijing.
Speaking from the airport before his departure, Chen said he was 'not happy' about leaving and that he had a lot on his mind, including worries about retaliation against his extended family back home.








Escape: Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng is helped towards the US-bound plane in a wheelchair
'Thousands of thoughts are surging to my mind,' Chen told the Associated Press. 'I hope that the government will fulfil the promises it made to me, all of its promises.'
Such promises included launching an investigation into abuses against him and his family in Shandong province, he said before the phone call was cut off.
Chen had also expressed gratitude to his supporters and other activists, and indicated that he hoped to return.
'I am requesting a leave of absence, and I hope that they will understand,' he said.
Chen's arrival at NYU is thanks to his friendship with Jerome Cohen, a law professor there who advised Chen while he was in the U.S. Embassy.
The two met when Chen came to the United States on a State Department program in 2003, and Mr Cohen has been a staunch advocate for him since.
'I'm very happy at the news that he's on his way and I look forward to welcoming him and his family tonight and to working with him on his course of study,' Mr Cohen said.
Chen will live at the Washington Square Village complex, a New York University housing facility where faculty and graduate students reside, an NYU spokesman said.









Blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng with his family
The activist and his family were driven up to the plane and Chen was pushed in a wheelchair on the tarmac to the plane's sky bridge. Police cars were stationed below the walkway to the plane, and about 10 security officials in plainclothes circulated around the airport.
Chen had spent the last three weeks in hospital after making his daring escape from abusive house arrest in his village, and taking refuge in the U.S. embassy.
A self-taught legal activist, Chen had come to the attention of the ruling Communist Party authorities after he led campaigns for farmers and the disabled and fighting against forced abortions in his rural community.
*In 2006, Chen was sentenced to more than four years in jail on charges - vehemently denied by his wife and lawyers - that he whipped up a crowd that disrupted traffic and damaged property. *
He was formally released in 2010 but remained under house arrest for 19 months in his home village in northeastern Shandong province, which officials turned into a fortress of walls, security cameras and guards in plain clothes who kept Chen isolated.









A Chinese paramilitary blocks access to the Beijing airport terminal from where Chen was set to fly out
Chen hid in a pig sty after fleeing house arrest, before stumbling through fields with a broken foot, saying he was terrified his guards would find him and beat him to death.
The village of Dongshigu, where Chen's mother and other relatives remain, is still under lockdown. 
Chen and other activists fear authorities in Shandong province will punish Chen's extended family for his audacious escape.
Chen's nephew, Chen Kegui, is accused of attempted murder after he allegedly used a kitchen knife to attack officials who stormed his house after discovering Chen Guangcheng was missing.
Chen Kegui was denied his family's choice of lawyers on Friday to defend the charge, the latest in a series of moves to deny him legal representation, and underscores the hardline stance taken against Chen Guangcheng's family.









Protection: Chen with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Kurt Campbell, front right, and U.S. Ambassador to China, Gary Locke, centre, at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on May 1, after seeking refuge
The U.S. embassy had earlier thought it had stuck a deal to allow Chen to stay in China without retribution, but that fell apart as Chen grew worried about his family's safety.
He changed his mind about staying in China and asked to travel to the United States. 
His supporters today welcomed his departure. 'I think this is great progress. We are happy about it,' said U.S.-based rights activist Bob Fu. 'It's a victory for freedom fighters.'
Nanjing activist blogger He Peirong, who was instrumental in helping Chen escape from house arrest, said she was 'very happy' to hear that Chen and his family were on their way to the United States.









Chen's family village of Dongshigu is still under lockdown. Pictured are Chen's older brother Chen Guangfu, father of the arrested Chen Kegui, with his grandson and wife
'I hope that this will be a good beginning,' said He, who was detained for several days by police for helping Chen. 'I hope that they will all be well and safe.' 
The 40-year-old Chen is emblematic of a new breed of activists that the Communist Party finds threatening. 
Often from rural and working-class families, these 'rights defenders', as they are called, are unlike the students and intellectuals from the elite academies and major cities who led the Tiananmen Square democracy movement.
Human rights are a major factor in relations between China and the United States, even though Washington needs China's help on issues such as Iran, North Korea, Sudan and the fragile global economy.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2146755/Chen-Guangcheng-Blind-Chinese-activist-lands-US-begin-new-life-fleeing-Beijing.html#ixzz1vPftDRnA

Just what we need, another community activist. Way to piss off China, Demorats


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## HuskyH-2 (Nov 16, 2008)

"Six flags guy" is a professor at NYU?


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## Meat Eater (Jan 27, 2012)

Has his monthly checks started coming in yet?


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## Johnny Law (Aug 8, 2008)

He had to sign a contract in exchange for his asylum, he always has to vote Democrat


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## GARDA (Dec 30, 2003)

After escaping to play a round of golf at a tough course where the greens can be harder for me to read than a Chinese newspaper in a darkroom, I often feel like checking myself into an asylum... 

(okay so it's not exactly the same thing... and you're right, I am better than that)  .


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## 7costanza (Aug 29, 2006)

The worst part of punching a blind Chinese activist in his cockholster is I want to do it again in a half HR.


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## cc3915 (Mar 26, 2004)

He'll be marching with the occupy crowd before you know it. Fuck this "Chinese activist". We should have kicked his ass out of our embassy as soon as reached the lobby.


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## 7costanza (Aug 29, 2006)

cc3915 said:


> He'll be marching with the occupy crowd before you know it.
> 
> Is that where the blind leading the blind comes from.


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## cc3915 (Mar 26, 2004)

Bahahaha


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## Meat Eater (Jan 27, 2012)

He wil be able to get a free scooter with a federal tax credit so he doesn't need the crutch.


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## nemedic (May 25, 2011)

And an interpreter to translate the Braille on the drive-up ATM into Chinese.


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## 263FPD (Oct 29, 2004)

Will China give asylum to uncle O in exchange? He could always get a job driving a rickshaw. Technically you don't need a license since there's no motor. 


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## Dan Stark (Aug 2, 2005)

Ok. Not trying to be a Dick, but why is this bad? I haven't read whole article yet, but isn't this what America is about? Despite our flaws, we love freedom? Who gives a fuck about China. We need to get off their nuts. If providing asylum to someone who had the courage to stand up.to some of their bullshit is wrong, then I think we've really lost some.perspective. am I completely missing something?

Sent from my ADR6350


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## 7costanza (Aug 29, 2006)

Dont be a Dick.


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## 263FPD (Oct 29, 2004)

My only question is, why flee communism in exchange for Obama socialism? Aren't two fairly much the same?


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## Dan Stark (Aug 2, 2005)

263FPD said:


> My only question is, why flee communism in exchange for Obama socialism? Aren't two fairly much the same?
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


In a non sequituer sort of way I agree with you, but I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet on our republic, despite what Barry is doing, he's only one man, and will be gone soon God Willing.

Sent from my ADR6350


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