The family of a blind Chinese dissident whose escape from house arrest threatens US-China relations has been captured by authorities in an attempt to coerce him out of his hiding spot in the US Embassy in Beijing.
Chen Guangcheng is under the protection of American officials after fleeing Friday, activists said yesterday. Both sides are trying to resolve the issue with “high-level talks,” said a statement from the China Aid Association, which is promoting Chen’s case.
In a YouTube video yesterday, Chen urged Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to “protect my family, my wife and my elderly mother who have suffered intimidation and brutal treatment.”
“Dear Premier Wen, I’ve escaped after trying so hard,” he said in the video. “I am free now, but I am still very worried because my beloved wife and son are still under the devilish hands.”
Besides being a dilemma for the Obama administration, which will face pressure at home to support Chen’s popular cause, the case has become an embarrassment for the Chinese government and the security forces which were supposed to keep him in custody.
China has not confirmed Chen’s escape, and the US Embassy also declined comment yesterday.
Chen served a prison sentence from 2006 to 2010 for protesting forced abortions and other abuses of China’s harsh birth-control policy.
Since his release, he’s languished in a village for almost two years under constant surveillance by local police and paid enforcers.
During his banishment and house arrest, Chen was beaten by the government-hired thugs.
Now, he’s afraid the same fate will befall his family.
Chen’s 6-year-old daughter, his elderly mother and other relatives have been rounded up since his escape, say news reports. His nephew, Chen Kegui, was in hiding after using a kitchen knife to defend his mother from intruders led by the village chief.
The self-taught “barefoot lawyer” made his getaway in the middle of the night with the help of He Peirong, who drove him more than 350 miles to Beijing. At an undisclosed point, he was handed over to the care of American officials in the Chinese capital.
security agents arrested He Peirong at her home in Nanjing on Friday, according to exile groups.