Chinese activist’s escape is inspiring, says artist

China’s most famous dissident, the artist Ai Weiwei, said blind activist Chen Guangcheng’s dramatic escape from confinement will inspire his fellow countrymen to stop living in fear.

Mr Chen’s escape last month from 19 months of house imprisonment and temporary refuge in the US embassy in Beijing embarrassed the ruling Communist Party and cast a spotlight on the lack of rule of law in China.

“Through his efforts, his strong spirit and incisiveness have made it so that other Chinese people have no excuse to be living in fear because their situations will never be worse than his,” Ai said yesterday.

Ai, 55, was speaking in his home in Beijing, where 15 surveillance cameras continually monitor activity outside his home. The artist was detained without charge in April 2011 and held until last June.