Chen Guangcheng - Escape and Emigration

Escape and Emigration

On 22 April 2012, Chen escaped from house arrest. Chen's fellow activist Hu Jia stated that Chen had been planning escape "for a long time", and had previously attempted to dig a tunnel for escape. In the weeks leading up to his escape, Chen gave his guards the impression that he was ill in bed, and stopped appearing outside the house, which allowed him several days before any absence would be discovered. Under cover of darkness and with the help of his wife, Chen climbed over the wall around his house, breaking his foot in the process.

When came upon the Meng River, he found it to be guarded, but he crossed anyway and was not stopped; he later stated that he believed the guards had been asleep. Though he recollected his immediate surroundings from his childhood explorations, he eventually passed into less familiar territory; he later told his supporters that he fell more than 200 times during his escape. Communicating with a network of activists via a cell phone, he reached a pre-determined rendezvous point where He Peirong, an English teacher and activist, was waiting for him. A chain of human rights activists then escorted him to Beijing. Several of the activists reported to be involved were detained or disappeared in the days following the announcement of Chen's escape.

Chen was given refuge at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, though the Embassy initially declined to confirm or deny reports that they were sheltering him. The Embassy later said they had accepted Chen on humanitarian grounds and offered him medical assistance. On 27 April, Chen appeared in an internet video in which he expressed his concern that the authorities would carry out "insane retribution" on his family and made three demands of Premier Wen Jiabao: 1) that local officials who allegedly assaulted his family be prosecuted; 2) that his family's safety be guaranteed; and 3) that the Chinese government prosecute corruption cases under the law.

The New York Times described the situation as a "diplomatic quandary" at a time when the U.S. was seeking to improve relations with China and seeks its support with respect to crises in Iran, Sudan, Syria, and North Korea. BBC News described Chen's escape as coming at "an unwelcome time for China's leaders," who were still dealing with a high-profile corruption scandal that resulted in the removal of politburo member Bo Xilai. Within twenty-four hours, Chen's name as well as the phrases "CGC" and "the blind man" had been blocked by Chinese online censors in an effort to quell Internet discussion of the case. On the day Chen announced his escape, Chinese state media did not carry "a single line of news" referring to it. The New York Times wrote that news of the escape "electrified China’s rights activists".