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Blind Chinese dissident lawyer Chen Guangcheng is described as "the Guardian of China" by the Women's Rights Without Frontiers President Reggie Littlejohn.
Littlejohn, whose organization campaign against forced abortions in China, spoke to NTD about the political significance of Chen's escape to the US Embassy in Beijing.
[Reggie Littlejohn, Women's Rights Without Frontiers President]:
"Chen is hugely significant in China in the sense more than any other dissident. I think he's captured the hearts of the nation. He's almost the 'Guardian of China' because he's completely non-violent, completely defenceless. He's blind and he's stood up for something that touches every person in China."
Chen was jailed for four years and placed under house arrest for another 19 months—for exposing forced late-term abortions under the Chinese regime's one-child policy.
Littlejohn said the Chinese regime has committed all kinds of human rights atrocities. She explained why the regime has cracked down so hard on Chen.
[Reggie Littlejohn, Women's Rights Without Frontiers President]:
"There's religious persecution. There's the execution of prisoners, the harvest of organs for transplants. There's the detention of lawyers, human rights activists, all of these are extremely important forms of persecution but they only touch narrow segments of society, whereas the one-child policy is something that touches everyone...Because they know that he carries the 'Heart of the Nation.' So for him to escape is just hugely significant."
In an open letter to President Obama, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, and US Ambassador Gary Locke, Littlejohn calls for official United States protection for Chen, his family, and his key supporters.