Chen was released from prison on September 8, 2010 after serving his full sentence, but remains under "ruanjin" or soft detention at his home in Dongshigu. Chen and his wife were reportedly beaten shortly after a human rights group released a video of their home under intense police surveillance on February 9, 2011.
Early life
Due to a severe fever, he lost his sight at an early age. He was illiterate until 1994 when he was enrolled by Qingdao High School for the Blind and graduated in 1998. He studied in Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from 1998 to 2001. After graduation he returned to his home region and found a job as a blind masseuse in the hospital of Yinan county. Nonetheless, he managed to audit in law classes and learned enough to aid his fellow villagers when they sought his assistance.Activism
In 2005, Chen exposed harsh illegal measures by local authorities when enforcing the one-child policy, where family planning officials from Linyi municipal authorities in Shandong forced thousands of people to undergo sterilization or to abort pregnancies. Chinese national regulations prohibit such brutal measures. The officials were also accused of detaining and torturing relatives of people who had escaped from the forced measures.Chen filed a class-action lawsuit on the women's behalf against Linyi officials and drew attention to the plight of the villagers. He also traveled to Beijing in June 2005 to seek redress. Although the suit he filed was rejected, the incident was publicised on the Internet and by the Time magazine who interviewed Chen. This prompted the National Population and Family Planning Commission to launch an investigation in August 2005. A month later, the Commission announced that several Linyi officials were detained.
Detention and trial
However, Linyi authorities placed Chen under house arrest in September 2005. Radio Free Asia reported that Chen was beaten up during a clash between villagers and officials. Three lawyers who were attempting to meet Chen were also beaten by unidentified men.According to a report by the Washington Post, a campaign was launched by local officials to portray Chen as working for "foreign anti-China forces" and that he received foreign funding. Chinese authorities often use this rhetoric to sway public opinion in similar cases even though it is not often true.
According to an article in Time by Hannah Beech, ?Chen Guangcheng, A Blind Man with Legal Vision,? Chen met with Time reporters to discuss the forced abortion cases when he thought authorities would take action. "Yet three hours after meeting with TIME in Beijing to discuss the issue, Chen was shoved into an unmarked vehicle by public-security agents from his hometown. They bundled him back to his village, where he was held under house arrest for months. Despite the commission's vow, only one official has been detained. Meanwhile, thugs routinely showed up at Chen's home to rough him up." In April, Time named Chen one of the 100 people most influential in shaping our world.
Chen was removed from his house in March 2006 and was formally detained in June 2006 by Yinan county official. He was scheduled to stand trial on July 17, 2006 on charges of destruction of property and assembling a crowd to disrupt traffic., but this was delayed at the request of the prosecution.According to Radio Free Asia and Chinese Rights Defenders (CRD), a network of Chinese citizens who are committed to safeguarding rights and their international volunteer supporters, prosecution delayed the trial because a crowd of Chen supporters gathered outside the courthouse. With only a few days notice, authorities rescheduled Chen's trial for August 18, 2006.
On the eve of his trial, all three of his lawyers were detained by Yinan police. Two were released after being questioned and their phones confiscated. Xu Zhiyong of the Yitong Law Firm, perhaps the lawyer with the most knowledge of the forced abortion cases Chen was working on, was detained after authorities accused him of stealing a man's wallet. He was not released until the trial concluded on the 18th. None of Chen's lawyers were allowed in the courtroom for the trial. Only Chen's brothers were allowed inside. Not even Chen's wife was allowed to hear proceedings. Instead, authorities appointed their own public defender for Chen just before the trial began. As a result, the defender had not even read the case report before he walked into the courtroom. The defender did little to help his new client's case and did not raise any objection to the proceedings or to any of the evidence presented, despite Chen's protest in the court. The trial lasted just two hours. On August 24, 2006, Chen was sentenced to four years and three months for "damaging property and organising a mob to disturb traffic".
On November 30, 2006, Yinan County court in Shandong province upheld its decision to sentence blind activist Chen Guangcheng to more than four years in prison after he documented claims of forced abortions, the activist's brother said.
The decision was issued in a 30-minute session, where no witnesses or evidence were presented, said Chen Guangfu, the only family member allowed to be present during the proceedings.
On January 12, 2007, the Linyi Intermediate Court in Shandong Province rejected Chen's final appeal. The same court had overturned his original conviction in December 2006 citing lack of evidence. However, Chen was convicted in a second trial on identical charges and given an identical sentence by the Yinan court.
Ruanjin
Chen is under Ruanjin, or soft detention, closely monitored house arrest. He and his wife, however, have attempted to communicate via video tape and written communication. The government has responded by beating Chen and his wife, confiscating documents and communication devices in their possession, cutting off electric power, and installing metal sheets over the windows of his house.Ramon Magsaysay Award
One of the awardees for emergent leadership, Chen Guangcheng has yet to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award as he is currently in prison. His wife, Yuan Weijing, was en route to Manila to receive the award on her husband's behalf but was prevented from boarding the plane. 256 Asians have received it since 1957. Each awardee receives a certificate, a medallion and an undisclosed cash prize. The award, often called the "Asian Nobel Award", was bestowed for "his irrepressible passion for justice in leading ordinary Chinese citizens to assert their legitimate rights under the law." His family and human rights groups in China called on United Nations human rights bodies, the media, the international community, and other governments to study the case and lobby on his behalf. Chen Guangcheng's story caught global attention. On April 30, 2006, he was in Time Magazine's list of "2006's Top 100 People Who Shape Our World" in the category of "Heroes and Pioneers."On August 24, 2007, AIDS activist Hu Jia reported that Yuan Weijing's passport had been revoked and her mobile phone confiscated by Chinese authorities as she attempted to pass the security cordon at Beijing airport. Weijing was on her way to the Philippines to attend the Magsaysay Award ceremony and receive the prize on behalf of her husband, Chen Guangcheng.
See also
- Juan Carlos Gonz�lez Leiva, a blind lawyer and human rights activist in the communist Cuba.
- Weiquan movement
- One-child policy
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References
External links and further reading
- YouTube video of home surveillance
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Category:1971 births Category:Chinese activists Category:Prisoners and detainees of the People's Republic of China Category:Chinese human rights activists Category:Living people Category:Blind people
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Source: http://article.wn.com/view/2012/04/28/China_dissident_Chen_Guangcheng_under_US_protection/
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