Plane with Chinese human rights activist on board touches down in Newark a month after his dramatic escape from house arrest
The blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has arrived to begin a new life in the United States – the final leg of a dramatic, month-long escape from house arrest in rural China.
His flight, United Airlines UA88, had departed for Newark almost two hours late from Beijing international airport as a thunderstorm rolled in – a suitably tempestuous climax to one of the most remarkable chapters of courage and injustice in recent Chinese history.
After beatings, imprisonment, injury, embassy refuge and diplomatic wrangling between the two superpowers, Chen's departure has stirred a mixture of relief and dismay among activists in China, who are glad Chen is safe but worried that their cause could lose one of its most influential advocates.
He is now due to enrol at New York University in Greenwich Village to study as a fellow at the School of Law, the institution said.
Chen said: "Thousands of thoughts are surging to my mind. I am requesting a leave of absence and I hope that they [his supporters] will understand."
Last month, Chen escaped 19 months of extrajudicial house arrest in his rural home in Shandong province. He and his family had been beaten and harassed as Dongshigu village in Linyi was turned into a virtual prison manned by plainclothes guards and filled with security cameras. This followed more than four years in prison on charges – denied by his lawyers – that he roused a crowd to disrupt traffic and damage property.
Earlier still, he had been abducted from the streets of Beijing by Linyi officials when he tried to expose their illegal use of forced abortions and sterilisations to meet family planning goals.
Chen escaped in the night, stumbled across farm fields and met a supporter who drove him to Beijing, where he sought the protection of US diplomats.
After bilateral talks, the two governments thrashed out a deal for him to stay in China with greater protection against the Linyi thugs. But this arrangement collapsed within hours as Chen heard that his lawyer, brother and nephew had been beaten while he was left alone in the Beijing hospital where he was being treated for colitis and a broken foot sustained during his escape.
The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, who was visiting Beijing, intervened and helped to arrange permission for Chen, his wife and daughters to travel to the US to study.
His lawyer Liu Weiguo said it was unlikely he would be allowed to return any time soon: "The chance for him to come back is small. I fear the Chinese government won't allow him to come back. This kind of thing has precedents." Chen is also said to be unhappy about leaving relatives behind in a village controlled by Linyi's notoriously violent local authorities. But Liu said he did not blame Chen.
"We should look at this from his perspective. He's mentally and physically exhausted now, and has been tormented for so many years. For the Chinese rights movement, he has done more than enough. We can't ask him to do any more. Now he needs time to rest."
Prominent human rights lawyer Teng Biao said he was happy for Chen and his family: "His safety and freedom are the priority. Whether this is a good thing for the rights movement is secondary now."
Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch said Chen's departure was no cause for celebration as his family are still under pressure and there may now be less incentive for the central government to investigate the wrongdoing by the local authorities.
More importantly, Bequelin said it raised questions about the wider environment for activists.
"This is a reflection that there is no room for human rights defenders in China. We don't know if this will turn into a temporary stay or exile, but in either case, it begs the questions why someone like Chen Guangcheng cannot freely operate in China. What is it that stops the authorities from tolerating or even embracing someone like Chen?"
The situation remains grim for those left behind. Dongshigu, where Chen's mother and other relatives remain, is still under lockdown.
His brother has described being beaten for three days after the activist escaped and his nephew Chen Kegui is to be tried for attempted murder after fighting off intruders with a knife. Independent lawyers have been denied permission to represent him. Several say they have been beaten, intimidated and told not to speak to the foreign media.
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