|Activist's escape hangs over U.S.-China diplomatic talks|
|Updated 4/29/2012 7:53 PM ET|
Democracy activists and some Republicans are calling on the Obama administration to stand up for Chen Guangcheng before moving on to issues Clinton plans to raise during her trip, such as ways to improve relations and economies.
After the dramatic escape last week of Chen, who has exposed forced abortions and sterilizations in villages as a result of China's one-child policy, Clinton and colleagues must instead grapple with a potentially explosive incident that highlights the gulf still separating the two nations.
"I think in all instances the president tries to balance our commitment to human rights, making sure that the people throughout the world have the ability to express themselves freely and openly, but also that we can continue to carry out our relationships with key countries overseas," John Brennan, President Obama's counterterrorism adviser, told Fox News Sunday.
The U.S. relationship with China is "very important," he added, "so we're going to make sure that we do this in the appropriate way and the appropriate balance is struck."
Chinese-based activists say Chen was driven away from his rural home by supporters on April 22 and then handed over to others who brought him to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
Chen, 40, had led a campaign to shed light on what he said were thousands of forced sterilizations and abortions in his home province of Shangdong. He was jailed for four years and since his release in 2010 his home has been ringed by security forces.
China's state-controlled news has made no mention of his escape and is blocking his name on websites. The U.S. is mum on Chen's whereabouts.
In a video appeal to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao purportedly shot after his escape, Chen, blind since infancy, asked Wen to prosecute the local officials he said have abused his family, including frequent beatings of his wife.
The brutal treatment of one of China's leading dissidents, and his family, echoes decades of human rights abuses here.
"I am delighted he is now safe, as he's been through such a hard time, but we're worried that his family and friends are in great danger," said Teng Biao, a Beijing rights lawyer who has represented Chen. "There was absolutely no legal basis for Chen's house arrest. Visitors who tried to see him were beaten. All this shows the weakness of China's rule of law and human rights."
"No matter how many airy statements about Sino-U.S. co-operation the two sides may make, there are inherent conflicts" in the relationship, said Jim Mann, author of three books on U.S.-China relations. "China has a different political system and doesn't live up to the rules and regulations of its own system."
Some see opportunity for change in light of the escape.
Chen's situation "is an embarrassment for China but it could bring about changes" in a system that represses dissidents, said Dali Yang, a University of Chicago China politics expert. "One blind man has underscored that this prohibitively costly system still has limited capacity," Yang said. "China needs to give its people a greater voice."
Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., who is the head of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus, called on the Obama administration to give Chen diplomatic protection.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney also expressed concern. "My hope is that U.S. officials will take every measure to ensure that Chen and his family members are protected from further persecution," he said.
|Posted 4/29/2012 4:46 AM ET|
|Updated 4/29/2012 7:53 PM ET|
A Chinese paramilitary police officer stands guard at the entrance of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China on Sunday.
By Vincent Thian, AP