You turn to us for voices you won't hear anywhere else.

Sign up for Democracy Now!'s Daily Digest to get our latest headlines and stories delivered to your inbox every day.

China: Chen Can Apply for Overseas Study

HeadlineMay 04, 2012

The Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng made a direct appeal to U.S. lawmakers on Thursday in his bid for entry into the United States. Speaking through an interpreter, Chen told a congressional hearing he fears for his safety and wants to flee China.

Chen Guangcheng: “I’m really afraid [for] my other family members’ lives, and they have installed seven video cameras and even with an electric fence. And now, I mean, he wanted — he said, those security officers in my house, and basically said we want to see what else Chen Guancheng can do.”

Chen escaped house arrest and took refuge at the U.S. embassy last week. He was freed under a deal with the Chinese government but now says he wants to come to the United States aboard the return flight of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who’s currently in China for talks. In a move that could signal the end of the standoff, the Chinese government issued a statement today saying Chen is free to apply for permission to study abroad.

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

Non-commercial news needs your support

We rely on contributions from our viewers and listeners to do our work.
Please do your part today.
Make a donation
Top