AP Exclusive: Blind activist now wants to leave China, fearing family’s safety after threats
BEIJING — Blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng says a U.S. official told him that Chinese authorities threatened to beat his wife to death had be not left the American Embassy.
Speaking by phone from his hospital room in Beijing on Wednesday night, a shaken Chen told The Associated Press that U.S. officials relayed the threat from the Chinese side.
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A blind Chinese activist left the US embassy and went into a Beijing hospital after China gave officials promises about his safety. But a friend of Chen Guangcheng says he was pressured, and agreed to stay in China to protect his family.
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Chen Guangcheng took on the Communist Party by organizing a class-action lawsuit against forced abortion and sterilization in China.
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The cases of Chen Guangcheng and Bo Xilai illustrate Beijing’s limits in dealing with local Communist Party fiefdoms.
Chen, who fled to the embassy six day ago, left under an agreement in which he would receive medical care, be reunited with his family and allowed to attend university in a safe place. He says he now fears for his safety and wants to leave.
A U.S. official denies knowledge of the threat, but says Chen was told his family would be sent back home if he stayed in the embassy.
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