Dear President Obama, Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Locke:<\/p>\n
We call for official United States protection of blind activist Chen Guangcheng, who dramatically escaped house detention and is now said to be at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.\u00a0 As of the writing of this letter, U.S. officials have not promised diplomatic protection for Chen or his family.<\/p>\n
As Secretary Clinton meets with key leaders in Beijing this week, the moral credibility of the United States on the world stage hangs in the balance.\u00a0 Chen Guangcheng is the Gandhi of our time.\u00a0 He is a man of inconceivable bravery.\u00a0 Poor, blind, beaten and detained, he nevertheless possesses the surpassing backbone to stand alone against the crushing brutality of the communist regime.\u00a0 He is the \u201cTank Man\u201d against the One Child Policy.\u00a0 He has done this on behalf of the women of China, who for thirty-two years have suffered the unspeakable torture of forced abortion and involuntary sterilization at the hands of the barbarous Chinese population control machine.\u00a0 Chen Guangcheng is a warrior for women\u2019s rights.<\/p>\n
At great risk to himself, his family and a wide network of brave supporters, Chen has been delivered safely into our Embassy.\u00a0 Meanwhile, members of his family and key supporters have been beaten or detained.<\/p>\n
The entire world is watching.\u00a0 Will you offer official protection to Chen, his family, and his key supporters who are now detained? Or will you continue to kowtow to the Chinese Communist Party for our economic advantage?\u00a0 Inescapably, the choice you make will symbolize the character of our nation to the world.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s Rights Without Frontiers calls upon you to use all diplomatic means to ensure safety for Chen Guangcheng, his family, and his key supporters who are currently detained, especially He Peirong, who rescued Chen and is a hero in her own right.<\/p>\n
We also ask that you press for Chen\u2019s requests that those who have been torturing and persecuting his family be brought to justice, and that corrupt officials who have received money for persecuting Chen be investigated and punished.<\/p>\n
The American people \u2013 and the people of the world \u2013 cry out for freedom for Chen Guangcheng.\u00a0 If you deliver him back into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party, he will no doubt be imprisoned, tortured, possibly killed.\u00a0 Would you use this noble man as a bargaining chip in trade talks?\u00a0 To do so would be to sell the soul of our nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear President Obama, Secretary Clinton and Ambassador Locke: We call for official United States protection of blind activist Chen Guangcheng, who dramatically escaped house detention and is now said to be at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.\u00a0 As of the … Continue reading