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The dramatic escape from detention of Chinese civil rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng turned into a diplomatic stand-off between the Obama administration and Chinese leaders. Then it was announced that an agreeable resolution had been found, and Chen left the US Embassy. Now though, he is saying he fears for his life, and those of his family members, and is seeking to leave China.
Chen left the US Embassy on Wednesday after spending six days there while American and Chinese leaders wrangled over his case. US diplomats have long spoken out on Chen's behalf, and decried his ill-treatment, and lengthy imprisonment without judicial process, by Chinese security forces.
Chen's escape from extralegal imprisonment last week became a case that has drawn commentary and speculation from all corners of Chinese and world society. It also came at a particularly sensitive time in the diplomatic process, just days before the start of the US-China Economic and Strategic Dialogue, which began on Wednesday.
In part as a means of smoothing that dialogue, Chen's case had been handled via a deal agreed by all parties, to have Chen stay in China and be able to attend university without facing harassment by security forces. Yet, only hours after leaving the US Embassy, Chen is now saying that he can no longer accept the deal: he feels that his and his family's lives are in danger.
[Chen Guangcheng, Chinese Civil Rights Lawyer]:
"I want to leave as soon as possible...I feel very unsafe. My rights and safety cannot be assured here."
It's unclear exactly why Chen has now come to believe that he and his family are unsafe. When the UK's Channel 4 News interviewed Chen, he indicated that specific death threats against his family had come from one or more people in the Chinese Communist regime.