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US confirms blind activist wants to leave China
The rural Chinese activist at the centre of a diplomatic standoff between Washington and Beijing now wants to leave China with his family, a US spokeswoman said, even as the annual high-level strategic and economic dialogue between US and China began here on Thursday with Chinese President Hu Jintao calling for a “new type of relationship” between the two countries to break the traditional belief that big powers only have conflicts.
Inaugurating the two-day talks attended among others by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Hu said China and US should break traditional belief that big powers will enter into conflicts and seek new ways to develop ties.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that US officials had spoken twice on Thursday with Chen Guangcheng and also with his wife and “they as a family have had a change of heart about whether they want to stay in China.”
“We need to consult with them further to get a better sense of what they want to do and consider their options,” Nuland said.
The blind, self-taught lawyer spent six days in the US Embassy after fleeing illegal house arrest and other mistreatment in his rural town where his activism angered local officials.
The rural Chinese activist at the centre of a diplomatic standoff between Washington and Beijing now wants to leave China with his family, a US spokeswoman said, even as the annual high-level strategic and economic dialogue between US and China began here on Thursday with Chinese President Hu Jintao calling for a “new type of relationship” between the two countries to break the traditional belief that big powers only have conflicts.
Inaugurating the two-day talks attended among others by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Hu said China and US should break traditional belief that big powers will enter into conflicts and seek new ways to develop ties.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that US officials had spoken twice on Thursday with Chen Guangcheng and also with his wife and “they as a family have had a change of heart about whether they want to stay in China.”
“We need to consult with them further to get a better sense of what they want to do and consider their options,” Nuland said.
The blind, self-taught lawyer spent six days in the US Embassy after fleeing illegal house arrest and other mistreatment in his rural town where his activism angered local officials.
