Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has today welcomed China´s seeming willingness to let the persecuted blind human rights activist Chen Guangscheng study in the US.
"Chen Guangcheng is currently in the hospital receiving treatment," Mr. Liu said. "If he wants to go abroad to study, as a Chinese citizen he can like other Chinese citizens go through normal channels to take care of the relevant processes at the relevant departments in accordance with the law."
At a later, regular daily news briefing, Mr. Liu said Mr. Chen could qualify for permission to study abroad despite his conviction in 2006 on charges of destruction of property and obstructing traffic—charges that his supporters say were trumped up by local authorities.
"According to Chinese law he's now a normal Chinese citizen, and through normal means he can apply through relevant procedures," Mr. Liu said.
Mr. Liu said he had no information on whether Mr. Chen's family could accompany him.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed China's statement Friday. She also cited progress in resolving the issue of Mr. Chen, which has become a political embarrassment for the Obama administration and strained China-U.S. ties.
There is not - at least yet - any reason to celebrate China´s "offer". We do not e.g. know anything about whether Mr. Chen´s family will be able to join him in the US. And the Chinese representatives´ way of describing Chen as "a normal Chinese citizen", who "like other Chinese citizens" can "go through normal channels to take care of the relevant processes at the relevant departments in accordance with the law", is laughable and disgusting, when we know how he and his family have been treated for years now.
This is e.g. what happened to Mr. Chen´s wife after he had fled to the US embassy in Peking:
He cited what his wife said were threats of bodily harm from security forces who tied her to a chair for two days and threatened to hurt her after he had escaped.
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