China activist Chen Guangcheng leaves U.S. Embassy, will stay in China

CBS ^ | 5/2/2012 | ap

[tobyhill]

A blind Chinese legal activist who was at the center of a diplomatic tussle between Washington and Beijing left the U.S. Embassy Wednesday to receive medical care in Beijing and be reunited with this family.

Guangcheng said via his lawyer that he is free and has received "clear assurances" from the Chinese government.

A U.S. official said Chen did not ask for asylum and is staying in China after receiving assurances that he will be treated as a normal citizen.

The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told reporters that Chinese authorities promised that Chen would be relocated to a safe environment where he can study at a university.

The U.S. official said Chen was brought into the U.S. Embassy on "humanitarian grounds" because after his escape from house arrest in his rural village he was in need of medical care.

[WellyP]

And “Ears” bails out to Afghanistan for cover... as usual!

[Former Fetus]

Chen then told Clinton in halting English, "'I want to kiss you,"'

Maybe what he really said was "'I want to kill you."' It's easy to make a mistake with those foreign accents.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

Yes poor translation can be a problem; for example it had President Carter telling a crowd in Poland that "he was sexually aroused for each of them."

.. or my favorite.. President Kennedy telling a crowd in Berlin that he was a jelly doughnut.