US, China forge tentative deal on Chinese activist

US, China forge tentative deal on Chinese activist

BEIJING — The U.S. and China forged the outlines of a deal Friday to
end a diplomatic standoff over legal activist Chen Guangcheng, with
Beijing saying he can apply to go abroad for study and Washington
saying he has been offered an American fellowship.

After three days of fraught, behind-the-scenes and emotional calls by
Chen from a guarded hospital room, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton said progress had been made in granting the activist's
wish to take his family abroad.

She said she was encouraged by a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement
that said Chen may apply to leave the country. Chen has been offered a
fellowship at an American university and may take his family, State
Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, adding that the U.S.
expects Beijing to quickly process their travel permits, after which
U.S. visas would be granted.

"Over the course of the day, progress has been made to help him have
the future that he wants, and we will be staying in touch with him as
this process moves forward," Clinton said speaking to reporters after
two days of annual strategic talks in Beijing.

The quickly announced steps were positive signs that the governments
were nearing a deal to end one of their most delicate diplomatic
crises in years.

A blind, self-taught lawyer and symbol in China's civil rights
movement, Chen triggered the standoff after he escaped abusive house
arrest in his rural town and sought refuge in the U.S. Embassy in
Beijing last week.

He left six days later under a negotiated deal in which he and his
family were to be reunited at a hospital and then safely relocated in
China so he can formally study law. But he later upended the agreement
by saying they wanted to go abroad.

After arriving at Chaoyang Hospital on Wednesday for treatment of an
injury, Chen said he had no further direct contact with U.S. officials
for nearly two days, fueling a sense of abandonment and fears about
the safety of him, his wife and two children. "I can only tell you one
thing. My situation right now is very dangerous," Chen said told The
Associated Press earlier Friday.

However, Clinton said that Ambassador Gary Locke spoke with Chen on
Friday and that embassy staff and a doctor met him — further positive
signs.

"He confirms that he and his family now want to go to the United
States so that he can pursue his studies," Clinton said.

Chen could not immediately be reached for his response to the latest
developments.

His earlier pleas for U.S. sanctuary, delivered via conversations with
The Associated Press, other foreign media and friends, have resonated
around the world and even become part of Washington politics in a
presidential election year.

On Thursday, he called in to a congressional hearing in Washington,
telling lawmakers he wanted to meet U.S. Secretary of State Clinton,
who is in Beijing for annual security talks. "I hope I can get more
help from her," Chen said.

The Foreign Ministry statement that said Chen was a normal citizen who
may apply to study overseas.

"Chen Guangcheng is currently being treated in hospital. As a Chinese
citizen, if he wants to study abroad he can go through the normal
channels to the relevant departments and complete the formalities in
accordance with the law like other Chinese citizens," the statement
said without elaborating.

While the statement only reiterates the normal rights of a Chinese
citizen, it underscored the government's openness to letting him go
and gives shape to a possible solution: He goes abroad with the
approval of the Chinese government, not the U.S., giving Beijing a
face-saving way out.

Chen has a letter of invitation from New York University, according to
Guo Yushan, a supporter who helped hide Chen in Beijing after his
escape from house arrest, in a Twitter post early Friday.

At a Foreign Ministry briefing, spokesman Liu Weimin also confirmed
that Chen faces no pending criminal charges, indirectly acknowledging
that the house arrest he and his family endured the past 20 months in
their rural home was the retribution of local officials for Chen's
activism. Chen has exposed forced abortions and other abuses in his
community as part of China's population controls.

"According to Chinese laws, he is a regular citizen. He can absolutely
go through regular formalities by normal means," Liu said.

Obstacles remain. It isn't clear if Chen would have to return to his
home province of Shandong to receive a passport, as is normal, and the
statements do not mention his family. His wife was stopped in 2007
from traveling to the Philippines to pick up a humanitarian award for
Chen while he was in prison

More:
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP58d3c402cdf04faeacd602de244b1bd8.html

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy



--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

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