The Will Sought The Way

"My wife, mother and children are still in their evil hands."

 Blind from birth, unschooled until he reached maturity, Chen Guangcheng has demonstrated the courage of supreme conviction in openly criticizing his government.  Knowing full well that his government does not brook criticisms lightly.  The forced abortions and sterilizations that took place in his native province of Shandong, although not a huge secret of the Communist government striving to control population growth, does represent an institutionalized abuse of human rights.

From imprisonment for trying the patience of the government, to house arrest, the self-trained lawyer refused to be intimidated, although he did learn to stifle his stridency and muffle it in a caution that would throw off the guards that policed his home and victimized his family through shared physical punishment.  Who would expect a blind man to make good an escape that would be difficult to achieve for someone who was sighted?

He went alone because his wife was not in very good shape, recovering from the latest beating administered by their guards.  "He injured his leg when he landed and it took him 20 hours to make his way around eight roadblocks.  He told me he fell over at least 200 times, before he got picked up on Monday and driven to Beijing."

It was Sunday when Mr. Chen made his escape, climbing over the wall around his house in pitch darkness both external and internal, eluding the notice of the guards.  He spent three nights in Beijing, driven there by a friend, before the rest of his planned journey took place; driving to the U.S. Embassy for safe haven on Friday.  His brother and nephew were later arrested as well as his friend, He Peirong, who drove him to the embassy.

His stay there is meant to be temporary.  He has no intention of leaving China.  He plans to continue mounting his opposition to the government, and has called upon Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao to punish those who were responsible for the physical abuse he and his wife, and his mother were subjected to while he was under house arrest.

"Their actions are so cruel it has greatly harmed the image of the Communist Party", he said, as he asked Mr. Wen to consider the injustice of the "despicable crimes" committed against his family.  Mr. Chen is safe for the time being.  The huge embarrassment this event has caused to Beijing still coming to terms with the Bo Xilai revelations, fixing the public eye on rampant corruption, may impel Mr. Wen to act.

As discomfited Beijing feels over this occurrence, the United States does, as well.  They have no wish to add to Beijing's travails, nor do they wish to become embroiled to the extent where their embassy and diplomatic relations will receive the brunt of distempered anger from Beijing.  It would most certainly place in peril upcoming high-level talks scheduled between U.S. and Chinese officials on economic and political linkage.

Both risk losing credibility and usefulness to one another in the short term, should they choose to act in a manner that will end up saving face for one while adding to the embarrassment of the other.  It's one of those unfortunate webs that result from ill-chosen and -pursued ventures that redound in unanticipated yet perfectly foreseeable ways.