(more from Chai Ling) :
In 2005, Chen investigated the methods of the One-Child Policy enforcers in his region, and he found that 7,000 women had undergone forced abortion is his area alone. He filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of 130,000 women who suffered forced abortions and sterilizations. Retaliation came swiftly: the government imprisoned Chen for four years for “obstructing traffic,” and kept him under lockdown in his own home since his 2010 release. There, a pack of guards continually harassed Chen and his wife along with their six-year-old daughter.
(snip)
The blind lawyer scaled a wall, crossed a river, and evaded eight rings of vigilant guards to break free. He then traveled on foot through fields for twenty hours before meeting activist _____.
(more from Chai Ling) :
But we let them down. Shamefully, US officials encouraged Chen to leave the Embassy and stay in China, in accordance with the Chinese government’s request. He left the Embassy yesterday morning under duress after being told that the Chinese authorities were going to take his wife and children back to Shandong and remove the possibility of reunification. The US denied that any coercion took place—but if this is not coercion, then what is?
(snip)
US Embassy staff assured Chen they would stay with him at the hospital to ensure his safety, but left him without protest after the Chinese told them “visiting hours” had ended. They also failed to get a written version of the agreement they reached with the Chinese negotiators, an elementary error that could have disastrous consequences.
(snip)
I do not believe that Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Locke were simply naïve . . . and I can only conclude that the current administration viewed Chen Guangcheng as a distraction that needed to be dealt with quickly—he was just a fly to be swatted away before diplomatic talks began. But this “fly” they swatted is a hero to everyone in China who values freedom and admires the United States’ commitment to humanity. With sadness, I can tell you that the network of activists that watched this week with baited breath is now demoralized and hopeless.
I will not mince my words: this was an unqualified disaster. It was a disaster for the Obama administration, for the America we love, and for those in China who pray for freedom. If there is any way to turn this around, we must. And I call upon you, Honorable Members of Congress, to try.