China targets activist’s family
THE blind Chinese rights activist Chen Guangcheng enjoyed his first hours in New York after years of jail and detention yesterday, but relatives and supporters back home remained locked up by security authorities.
Mr Guangcheng escape from 19 months of detention in eastern China and his six-day stay in the US embassy in Beijing exposed embarrassing gaps in the web of security that the ruling Communist Party uses to stifle dissent.
However, the pressure on Mr Guangcheng’s family in Shandong province and on activists who supported him shows that his flight does not mean China will relax its grip on dissent.
“There won’t be any big changes for us now. There are still many reasons to keep up control and stability preservation,” Jiang Tianyong, a Beijing human rights lawyer, said.
Mr T i a nyo n g, who campaigned for Chen’s freedom, said he remained under house arrest, despite police officers’ promises that he would be released after Mr Guangcheng left.
The Communist Party will anoint a new leadership this year, one of a series of dates on China’s political calendar when authorities tighten security.
Mrguangcheng’s nephew, Chen Kegui, remains in detention, facing charges of attempted homicide. Mr Guangcheng said his elder brother, Chen Guangfu, was also “under restrictions”.