^ "Chinese court upholds blind activist's sentence of more than four years in prison". China Post. Associated Press. 1 December 2006. Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2012. ^ Joseph Kahn (12 January 2007). "Chinese Court Upholds Conviction of Peasants' Advocate". The New York Times.
"China says dissident may apply to study in U.S". Reuters. 4 May 2012. Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012. ^ Lisa Fleisher (4 May 2012).
Chen, who listened to the program, later contacted Yuan and relayed his own story of hardship as a blind man living on just 400 Yuan per year. Yuan was moved by the exchange, and later that year, she traveled to Chen's village to meet him.
In March 2002, Newsweek magazine ran a cover story on Chen and the " barefoot lawyer " movement in China, detailing his advocacy on behalf of villagers and the disabled. His profile rose further in 2005 when he filed a landmark class-action suit taking on abuses of the one-child policy.
Blind since a young age and a self-taught legal activist, Chen Guangcheng rose to prominence for helping to expose harsh realities about China's family planning policies.
Blind from an early age and self-taught in the law, Chen is frequently described as a "barefoot lawyer" who advocates for women's rights, land rights, and the welfare of the poor.
In the weeks leading up to his escape, Chen gave his guards the impression that he was ill in bed, and stopped appearing outside the house, which allowed him several days before any absence would be discovered. Under cover of darkness and with the help of his wife, Chen climbed over the wall around his house, breaking his foot in the process.
Chen first petitioned authorities in 1996, when he traveled to Beijing to complain about taxes that were incorrectly being levied on his family (people with disabilities, such as Chen, are supposed to be exempt from taxation and fees). The complaint was successful, and Chen began petitioning for other individuals with disabilities. With funding from a British foundation, Chen became an outspoken activist for disability rights within the China Law Society. His reputation as a disability rights advocate was solidified when agreed to advocate for an elderly blind couple whose grandchildren suffered from paralysis. The family had been paying all of the regular taxes and fees, but Chen believed that, under the law, the family should have received government assistance and exemption from taxation. When the case went to court, blind citizens from surrounding counties were in attendance as a show of solidarity. The case was successful, and the outcome became well-known.
In November 2012, Chen Kegui was sentenced to more than three years in prison. On 4 November 2013, Chen Guangfu said he would fly to New York City with his mother two days later for a reunion with his brother Chen Guangcheng.
When Chen was about six months old, he lost his sight due to a fever that destroyed his optical nerves.
Chen's father worked as an instructor at a Communist Party school, earning the equivalent of about $60 annually. When Chen was a child, his father would read literary works aloud to him, and reportedly helped impart to his son an appreciation of the values of democracy and freedom.
In 1994, he enrolled at the Qingdao High School for the Blind, where he studied until 1998.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. In this Chinese name, the family name is Chen. Chen Guangcheng (born 12 November 1971) is a Chinese civil rights activist who has worked on human rights issues in rural areas of the People's Republic of China. Blind from an early age and self-taught in the law, Chen is frequently described as ...
Chen met with members of his legal team July 8 in Manchester, New Hampshire, to celebrate. He became a U.S. citizen in Baltimore on June 21. “It’s a long journey from being under house arrest in China to being a U.S. citizen. It took 15 years," said George Bruno, former U.S. ambassador to Belize and one of Chen's lawyers.
A blind Chi nese dissident who escaped to the United States in 2012 is now an American citizen and says the human rights situation in China is getting “worse and worse.". By KATHY McCORMACK Associated Press.
A blind Chinese dissident who escaped to the United States in 2012 is now an American citizen. Chen Guangcheng, speaking through a translator, said in an interview with The Associated Press last week he was “very grateful that America, this free country, has welcomed us.”.
Chen Guangcheng (born 12 November 1971) is a Chinese civil rights activist who has worked on human rights issues in rural areas of the People's Republic of China. Blind from an early age and self-taught in the law, Chen is frequently described as a "barefoot lawyer" who advocates for women's rights, land rights, and the welfare of the poor.
Chen is the youngest of five brothers of a peasant family from the village of Dongshigu, Yinan County, Linyi, southern Shandong Province, approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) from the city of Jinan. When Chen was about six months old, he lost his sight due to a fever that destroyed his optical nerves. In an interview for the New York Review of Books, Chen said that although his family did not identify with an organized religion, his upbringing was informed by a "traditional b…
Chen first petitioned authorities in 1996, when he traveled to Beijing to complain about taxes that were incorrectly being levied on his family (people with disabilities, such as Chen, are supposed to be exempt from taxation and fees). The complaint was successful, and Chen began petitioning for other individuals with disabilities. With funding from a British foundation, Chen became an outspoken activist for disability rights within the China Law Society. His reputation as a disabilit…
On 7 September 2005, while Chen was in Beijing to publicize his class action lawsuit against the Linyi city family planning staff, he was reportedly abducted by security agents from Linyi and held for 38 hours. Recounting the incident to foreign journalists, Chen said that authorities threatened to levy criminal charges against him for providing state secrets or intelligence to foreign organizations. After Chen refused negotiations with local officials to cease his activism, Linyi au…
After his release from prison in 2010, Chen was placed under house arrest against Chinese law, and was closely monitored by security forces. Legally, he was proclaimed by the government to be a free man, but in reality the local government offered no explanation for the hundreds of unidentified agents monitoring his house and preventing visitors or escape.
He and his wife attempted to communicate with the outside world via video tape and letters. Let…