On a moonless night on April 22, blind activist Chen Guangcheng began his mad dash from Dongshigu village.
He told friends he fell 200 times as he made his made his way to a predetermined pick-up point.
Once there, he slid a battery into the cellphone in his pocket and called He Peirong, a former English teacher from the distant city of Nanjing. She was part of a loose network of freelance rights advocates who had been trying to draw attention to his plight for more than a year.
With Chen in her car, a decision had to be made: try to surreptitiously leave the country through the help of Christian activists; or stay, in an attempt to establish an independent life within China.
Chen chose the latter and was driven more than 480 kilometres to the capital.
There, he was taken in by supporters who made sure he slept in a different apartment each night while they tried to come up with a plan.
It was decided that only the US Embassy could provide Chen protection. Another friend first contacted the embassy, explaining that Chen had a serious foot injury and needed help, according to a US official involved in the discussions.
The matter was quickly brought to the attention of Harold Koh, the US State Department legal adviser who was in China on another matter. After consulting with senior State Department officials, Koh determined that Chen’s injury and blindness qualified him for short-term humanitarian assistance in a “good Samaritan way”, one of the officials said.
A rendezvous point was agreed upon in an area west of the embassy where an official car would meet the vehicle carrying Chen. The plan was for the lawyer to be helped into the embassy car. As Chen’s car moved into an alley, the embassy vehicle drew alongside, and the lawyer was pulled into the US vehicle.
The Americans evaded two Chinese cars and headed for the embassy, the official said.
Once he was safely inside a Marine dormitory, US diplomats imposed an information blackout as they negotiated his fate with senior Foreign Ministry officials.
Over the next six days, US officials shuttled between long talks with Chen and the Foreign Ministry, a short drive away where they met, sometimes three times a day with half a dozen officials, led by Vice-Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai, at one table, and the Americans sitting opposite at another.
In the early sessions with the Chinese diplomats, the Americans suggested that Chen be allowed to move to Shanghai, where New York University is planning to open a law school. That idea was rejected by the Chinese, they said.
The two sides agreed on a list of seven cities where Chen could further his law studies. Chen settled on Tianjin, which seemed to the Americans a suitable choice because its proximity to the capital would allow the spotlight to be kept on Chen, with frequent visits by supporters and diplomats from Beijing.
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Escape plan of blind activist detailed
The New York Times in Beijing
04 May 2012
On a moonless night on April 22, blind activist Chen Guangcheng began his mad dash from Dongshigu village.
He told friends he fell 200 times as he made his made his way to a predetermined pick-up point.
Once there, he slid a battery into the cellphone in his pocket and called He Peirong, a former English teacher from the distant city of Nanjing. She was part of a loose network of freelance rights advocates who had been trying to draw attention to his plight for more than a year.
With Chen in her car, a decision had to be made: try to surreptitiously leave the country through the help of Christian activists; or stay, in an attempt to establish an independent life within China.
Chen chose the latter and was driven more than 480 kilometres to the capital.
There, he was taken in by supporters who made sure he slept in a different apartment each night while they tried to come up with a plan.
It was decided that only the US Embassy could provide Chen protection. Another friend first contacted the embassy, explaining that Chen had a serious foot injury and needed help, according to a US official involved in the discussions.
The matter was quickly brought to the attention of Harold Koh, the US State Department legal adviser who was in China on another matter. After consulting with senior State Department officials, Koh determined that Chen’s injury and blindness qualified him for short-term humanitarian assistance in a “good Samaritan way”, one of the officials said.
A rendezvous point was agreed upon in an area west of the embassy where an official car would meet the vehicle carrying Chen. The plan was for the lawyer to be helped into the embassy car. As Chen’s car moved into an alley, the embassy vehicle drew alongside, and the lawyer was pulled into the US vehicle.
The Americans evaded two Chinese cars and headed for the embassy, the official said.
Once he was safely inside a Marine dormitory, US diplomats imposed an information blackout as they negotiated his fate with senior Foreign Ministry officials.
Over the next six days, US officials shuttled between long talks with Chen and the Foreign Ministry, a short drive away where they met, sometimes three times a day with half a dozen officials, led by Vice-Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai, at one table, and the Americans sitting opposite at another.
In the early sessions with the Chinese diplomats, the Americans suggested that Chen be allowed to move to Shanghai, where New York University is planning to open a law school. That idea was rejected by the Chinese, they said.
The two sides agreed on a list of seven cities where Chen could further his law studies. Chen settled on Tianjin, which seemed to the Americans a suitable choice because its proximity to the capital would allow the spotlight to be kept on Chen, with frequent visits by supporters and diplomats from Beijing.
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