China says blind activist Chen can apply to study abroad
BEIJING – China said Friday that a blind rural activist who has pleaded for U.S. sanctuary can apply to study abroad, possibly opening the door to resolving a diplomatic standoff with the United States.
Handout via Getty Images
In this handout photograph provided by the U.S. Embassy press office, Chen Guangcheng holds hands Wednesday with U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke, right, in Beijing.
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The Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website that Chen Guangcheng would be allowed to apply to study overseas, although it did not immediately give details.
Chen is seeking U.S. help to leave the country after he fled house arrest and sought refuge at the U.S. Embassy. He is now being treated at a hospital, under a Chinese police cordon, while the two countries discuss his case.
"Chen Guangcheng is currently being treated in hospital. As a Chinese citizen, if he wants to study abroad he can go through the normal channels to the relevant departments and complete the formalities in accordance with the law like other Chinese citizens," the Foreign Ministry said.
The ministry statement was the most positive response so far from the Chinese side. It was in contrast to earlier comments from the ministry, which had demanded the apologize for giving Chen sanctuary at the embassy.
There was no immediate comment from Chen.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to speak publicly about the delicate diplomatic dance at the end of a two-day conference in Beijing later today. She has been involved in Chen's case since arriving in Beijing on Wednesday morning but has not mentioned it directly.
Clinton has brought up China's human rights record during the fourth annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue between the two countries - more often in her prepared remarks than in what she actually has said.
On Friday, her printed address to a session on strategic issues included this phrase: "All governments have the responsibility of addressing their citizens' aspirations for dignity and rule of law. These are not Western values - they are universal rights that apply to all people in all places."
Earlier, during a session on "People to People Exchanges" between the two nations, she said, "We will continue to have differences, and we now are at a point in our relationship where we can candidly and openly talk about them." For the United States, she said, that includes human rights, "which we're clear about."
Throughout Clinton's stay, U.S. embassy officials have been working with their Chinese counterparts in an effort to work out Chen's situation. Embassy officials spoke at length with Chen by phone Friday morning and met with his wife, Yuan Weijing.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry statement came shortly after Chen told the Associated Press that he felt his situation was "dangerous," and complained that American officials have been blocked from seeing him for two days and friends who have tried to visit have been beaten up.
Chen sounded anxious as he spoke by telephone from his hospital bed Friday, saying he was very worried about his safety.
"I can only tell you one thing. My situation right now is very dangerous," Chen said. "For two days, American officials who have wanted to come and see me have not been allowed in."
On Thursday, Chen voiced confidence in an agreement that was brokered by the United States before he left the U.S. Embassy on Wednesday.
"I am not disappointed in the U.S. government. They made such a great effort," he said in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY. "I am very grateful. It was under their great efforts that I got this important agreement."
Chen said he spoke to American officials by phone on Friday, twice, "but the calls keep getting cut off after two sentences." A senior U.S. official said U.S. Embassy personnel also met Chen's wife in person.
U.S. diplomats have experienced difficulty accessing Chen since he left the U.S. Embassy in Beijng on Wednesday. He was taken by car, in the company of U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke, to Chaoyang Hospital, a large, state-run facility.
At lunchtime Friday, issues surrounding U.S. access to Chen appeared to continue. Robert Wang, the deputy chief of mission of the U.S. Embassy, arrived in an embassy car at 12:45 p.m. local time but was unable to enter through the north gate. After entering on foot from the east of the compound, Wang and a colleague approached but did not enter the wing where Chen is receiving treatment for a foot broken during his dramatic nighttime escape.
The two men brought several items, including what appeared to be a birthday gift for Chen's son, with them. Chen and his son, whose birthday is Friday, were reunited at the hospital after a long separation caused by Chen's detention. He also has a 6-year-old daughter.
Chen last week escaped his rural home where local officials had kept him under house arrest for years. He made it to the U.S. Embassy, where he stayed for six days before the U.S. and China reached a deal that would allow him to stay in China but in a new location, as he had requested. But hours after leaving the embassy Wednesday he said he and his family would not be safe unless they left the country.
A self-taught lawyer, the 40-year-old Chen became an international human rights figure and inspiration to many ordinary Chinese after running afoul of local government officials for exposing forced abortions and sterilizations carried out as part of China's one-child policy. Until his escape last week, his nearly seven years in prison and abusive house arrest with his wife, 6-year-old daughter and mother fueled outrage and added to his stature — and in turn upped the stakes for Washington in helping him.
Chen said throughout his stay at the U.S. Embassy that his desire was to remain in China with his family, and U.S. diplomats said that was their goal in negotiations with Chinese officials.
After several days of talks, U.S. officials said they extracted a guarantee that Chen would be relocated outside his home province to a university town where he could formally study law. U.S. officials said they would periodically monitor his situation, though they did not specify how.
But hours after a gleeful Chen left the U.S. compound, he changed his mind, driven in part by his wife's tales of abuse and retribution in the days after Chen managed to escape from his rural farmhouse. Chen also said he felt abandoned by the U.S., finding no embassy staff at the hospital to assure his protection.
Reporters Calum MacLeod and Richard Wolf contributed from Beijing. Additional information from the Associated Press.
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