BEIJING — Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng was on his way to the United States on Saturday afternoon, said activists who were helping the long-persecuted lawyer in his bid to leave China.
The Chinese government notified Chen only a few hours ahead of time that he, his wife and their two young children should be ready to depart Saturday afternoon. Chen had been recuperating in a Beijing hospital from an odyssey that began April 22 when he escaped from house arrest in Shandong province and made his way to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, setting off an international diplomatic crisis.
“This is good news,” said Texas-based activist Bob Fu, whose ChinaAid was helping Chen. He said he was not surprised that the Chinese government was living up to a promise made earlier this month to the U.S. government to help Chen leave to study in the United States. “So many people were involved from both governments that they had to keep their commitment to maintain credibility.”
In addition, the Chinese government had good reason to want the Chen problem quickly resolved to divert attention from continuing human-rights abuses, and it appears officials acted with unaccustomed brevity. Chen was whisked from the hospital in a convoy of unmarked government cars, apparently riding in a van with blackened windows.
In a telephone interview Friday evening, Chen said he and his family had just completed their passport applications and were awaiting word on their departure.
“I am feeling well and rested, but no, I haven’t heard anything about when we are leaving,” Chen said then. He said he was still concerned about treatment of his relatives remaining in Shandong province, particularly a nephew who has been charged with attempted murder in an altercation with local officials shortly after Chen’s escape.
“I’m trying to help my nephew. It is my responsibility to care for those left behind,” he said.
Although nothing has been settled, it is expected that Chen will study law in the United States, most likely at New York University. The blind activist trained himself in law, helping rural families resist abuses of China’s family planning authorities, but he has no formal legal training.
In the human rights community, Chen’s departure was seen as both a victory and a defeat. After escaping to the U.S. Embassy, Chen initially said he wanted to remain in China, studying law here and continuing his life’s work. But he quickly changed his mind after other activists warned him that his safety and that of his family couldn’t be guaranteed in China.
“I am really happy for Chen and his family,” said close friend and fellow dissident Jian Tianyong. “It is like a big stone hanging in my heart has finally fallen away. At the same time, I feel very sad to see such a good friend be farther away from us. And it’s sad to see that a good person like him can’t even stay in our country.”