Chen Guangcheng calls on Beijing to keep its word and allow him to leave China

As well as breaking a foot in his daring getaway, he is thought to be
suffering from an intestinal complaint brought on by an infection. “I
can’t move around much but I am feeling better,” he told Reuters in a
brief phone call. “I still don’t know when I will leave, but it
shouldn’t be too long.”

On Sunday, Joe Biden, the US Vice-President, said that Mr Chen and his family
would be granted visas to travel to America “right away”.

China’s foreign ministry meanwhile warned the US on Monday that steps needed
to be taken to prevent a repeat of the Chen incident.

“The US side should draw a lesson from the relevant incident with a
responsible attitude, reflect on its policies and moves and take necessary
measures to prevent similar incidents,” said foreign ministry spokesman
Hong Lei.

That Mr Chen has decided to go to the US indicates that he does not trust the
Chinese government’s assurances that he and his family will be free from
persecution in the future. After revealing a campaign of forced abortions
and sterilisations in his native Shandong Province in 2005, Mr Chen was
imprisoned for four years and then spent almost 20 months under house arrest
in his home village of Dongshigu.

Although he has repeatedly said that he does not wish to go into permanent
exile, Mr Chen’s apparent acceptance that leaving is his only option means
he risks never being allowed to return to China again. Beijing is likely to
regard Mr Chen’s ticket to the US as a one-way one, a chance to rid the
country of a high-profile activist who has become a rallying figure for
dissent.

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