中國新華社星期三（5月2日）下午發佈簡短消息稱，山東盲人維權人士陳光誠「自行」離開美國駐華大使館。
新華社簡訊稱：「據了解，山東省沂南縣人陳光誠於４月下旬進入美國駐華使館停留6天後自行離開。」
在北京的一名美國高級官員也對外國媒體證實了這一消息。
這名未透露姓名的官員稱，陳光誠目前在北京一個醫療機構，他將在這裏接受治療並與家人團聚。
此前有人權活動人士透露，陳光誠將和家人一同前往美國。
美國國務卿希拉里·克林頓星期三早晨抵達北京，這比她預定參加的中美第四輪戰略與經濟對話提前了整整一天。
分析人士普遍認為，中美致力在這次高層對話前解決陳光誠問題。
道歉
中國外交部發言人劉為民星期三下午在北京舉行的記者會上談到盲人維權人士陳光誠進入美國使館的事件。
劉為民說，「美國駐華使館以非正常的方式將中國公民陳光誠帶入使館，中方對此強烈不滿。美方做法是對中國內政的干涉，中方決不接受。」
他說，中方要求美方就此道歉，徹底調查此事，處理相關責任人，並保證不再發生此類事件。
劉為民說，中方注意到美方表示重視中方要求和關切，並保證採取必要措施防止再次發生此類事件。
(BBC)
Mathew Lee
The Associated Press
BEIJING- A blind
Chinese activist who sparked a diplomatic tussle by holing up in the U.S.
Embassy in Beijing for six days emerged Wednesday after U.S. officials said
China had assured his safety.
Chen Guangcheng's
escape from illegal house arrest and other mistreatment in his rural town and
his flight into the protection of U.S. diplomats in Beijing had threatened to
derail annual U.S.-China strategic talks involving U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton starting Thursday.
U.S. Ambassador Gary
Locke escorted Chen to the Chaoyang Hospital, where he was to receive medical
treatment. On the way, the activist called his lawyer, Li Jinsong, who said
Chen told him: “'I'm free. I've received clear assurances.'“
Chen, 40, also
received a call from Clinton, whom he thanked in Chinese for raising his case,
a U.S. official said. Chen then told Clinton in halting English, “'I want to
kiss you,'“ the official said.
Chen, who ran afoul of
local government officials for exposing forced abortions, escaped from 20
months of home detention last week, fleeing into U.S. hands and setting up the
most delicate diplomatic crisis in years for the two governments.
As part of the
agreement that ended the fraught, behind-the-scenes standoff, U.S. officials
said China agreed to let Chen receive a medical checkup and be reunited with
his family at the hospital; his wife and two children joined him there
Wednesday afternoon. He would then be relocated to a safe place in China where
he could study at university — all demands activists said Chen had raised.
Clinton, in a
statement, said Chen's exit from the embassy “reflected his choices and our
values” and said the U.S. would monitor the assurances Beijing gave. “Making
these commitments a reality is the next crucial task,” she said.
In a fit of
face-saving pique, the Chinese Foreign Ministry demanded that the U.S.
apologize, investigate how Chen got into the embassy and hold those responsible
accountable.
“What the U.S. side
has done has interfered in the domestic affairs of China, and the Chinese side
will never accept it,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said in a
statement.
The apparent
resolution shelves, at least for now, a predicament that threatened to move
human rights to the front of a U.S.-China agenda crowded with disagreements
over trade imbalances, North Korea and Syria.
With Chen out of the
way, Clinton, Treasury Secretary Geithner and their Chinese counterparts can
focus on the original purpose of their two-day talks starting Thursday:
building trust between the world's superpower and its up-and-coming rival.
However, leaving Chen
is risky for President Barack Obama because Washington will now be seen as
party to an agreement on Chen's safety that it does not have the power to
enforce.
Senior U.S. officials,
speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the intense negotiations that led
to Chen leaving the embassy, said the U.S. helped Chen get into the embassy
because he injured his leg escaping from his village. In the embassy, Chen did
not request safe passage out of China or asylum in the U.S., the officials
said.
The officials refused
to say if Washington would apologize. One official said that embassy staff
acted “lawfully” and in conformity with policy, suggesting that the U.S. does
not believe it has anything to apologize for.
Another official would
say only that “this was an extraordinary case involving exceptional
circumstance, we do not anticipate that it will be repeated.”
The officials said
they expected that Chinese officials would raise Chen's case during a Wednesday
dinner that State Councilor Dai Bingguo is hosting for Clinton and again during
the strategic portion of the high-level talks on Thursday and Friday.
Chen served four years
in prison and was then kept under house arrest with his wife, daughter and
mother, with the adults often being roughed by officials and his daughter
searched and harassed. His dogged pursuit of justice and the mistreatment of
him by authorities brought him attention from the U.S. and foreign governments
and earned him supporters among many ordinary Chinese.
As news spread that he
had been taken to Chaoyang Hospital, in the eastern part of the city, media
crews and a few supporters gathered outside. A man stood in front of the gate
at the hospital and held up a sign saying “Freedom for Guangcheng, Democracy
for China” for a minute before police took him inside. The hospital's name
became a banned search term on the much-censored Chinese Internet, joining a
long list of permutations for Chen's name.
During the
negotiations over Chen's fate, options considered included sending him to the
U.S. or letting him stay in China.
In a video statement
he recorded while in hiding last week, Chen demanded that the Chinese
government guarantee his family's safety. He told fellow activists that his
preferred option was to stay in China and continue his legal advocacy as long
as his family is safe.
Bob Fu of the
Texas-based ChinaAid said earlier Wednesday that Chen was conflicted.
Chen “wants to
participate for the progress in China in this moment of history, and he is
afraid of course he will lose touch and could not return if he chooses to come
to the U.S.,” said Fu, who was in touch with the activists who spirited Chen to
Beijing.
Aside from his wife,
daughter and mother, other family members remain at risk. Chen's elder brother,
Guangfu, was detained Thursday after officials discovered the activist missing.
A nephew, Kegui, was wanted for injuring local officials when he fought back
during a raid, though his whereabouts Wednesday were not known, said Liu
Weiguo, a lawyer who volunteered to defend him.
The arrangements for
Chen carries risks as well for China's government, which worries about
encouraging activists and government critics. The prison term and abusive house
arrest he suffered had long been seen as the work of vengeful local officials
that Beijing was either unable or unwilling to stop.
The U.S. officials
said Chen would be settled outside his home province of Shandong and have
several university options to choose from. They also said that the Chinese
government had promised to treat Chen “like any other student in China” and
would investigate allegations of abuse against him and his family by local
authorities.
Chinese activists and
lawyers called the arrangements unprecedented and worried if Beijing would
abide by them.
“After all, there is
still a lack of rule of law. Think about how long they were able to hold him
under illegal house arrest,” said lawyer Li Fangping. I think we have to
monitor the situation to see if he really does gain freedom after this stage.
But I personally don't have a lot of confidence.”
(The Toronto Star)
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