‘It’s like a Chinese Shawshank Redemption’

HE WAS robbed of his sight by fever in infancy, but Chen Guangcheng went on to become one of the highest-profile human rights activists in China and, as a consequence, was placed under house arrest.

But now he has left the authorities embarrassed and given hope to millions of dissidents by mysteriously evading his captors and sending a video from his underground hideaway.

The self-taught lawyer, whose life has been devoted to the fight for liberty and legal rights in his homeland, was last night believed to be ensconced in a secret location in Beijing, sparking a frantic police search and an investigation into how he was able to flee the well-guarded village where he was being held.

In what has been hailed as a major boon for China’s beleaguered civil rights community at a time of escalating arrests and harassment, Mr Chen released a video which sought to expose the abuse and beatings his family suffered under house arrest.

The revelations – which include details of assaults that left members of his family with broken bones, and harassment against his children – are a blow to the Chinese government, already under fire over a corruption and wire-tapping scandal sparked by the death of British businessman Neil Heywood.

In the video, a gaunt Mr Chen expressed concern the authorities would seek to take “insane retribution” on his loved ones, after several relatives were arrested in the wake of his escape.

The video, part of which has been posted on YouTube, shows Mr Chen speaking to a camera in a room with an off-white curtain drawn behind him. “I am now free. But my worries have not ended yet … My escape might ignite a violent revenge against my family,” he said.

In the video, which has not been independently verified, he accused local Communist Party officials by name of mistreating his family. He called on premier Wen Jiabao to punish those responsible.

“Including party leaders, police and other civilians, around 90 to 100 people have been involved in the persecution of my family,” he said. “I hereby request to you, Premier Wen, to start an investigation into this case.”

Mr Chen, who is said to be in poor health, served four years in prison for exposing forced abortions and sterilisations in his home village of Dongshigu in Shandong province and surrounding areas. Since his release in September 2010, local officials have confined him to his home, despite the lack of legal grounds for doing so, beating him up on several occasions.

One beating that left him unconscious was in apparent retaliation for a video, later smuggled out, in which he compared his house arrest to being in “a bigger jail” than where he had been held.

Human Rights Watch said his apparent escape had been a timely one. “It comes not a moment too soon, as there have been reports he has been in extremely poor health due to severe multiple beatings,” said spokesman Phelim Kine.

Mr Chen was widely admired by rights activists at home, who last year campaigned to publicise his case among ordinary Chinese and encourage them to go to Dongshigu village and break the security cordon. Hollywood actor Christian Bale tried to visit, but he was roughed up by locals paid to keep outsiders away. Surveillance cameras were trained on Mr Chen’s house, with checkpoints in place around Dongshigu, and it is believed 90 guards were in the area.

“I have confirmed that Chen is now in Beijing,” said Hi Jia, a prominent human rights activist. “I would say the fact that he successfully escaped is a miracle.

“It’s like a real Chinese version of The Shawshank Redemption. I heard he got through eight security checks.”

He Peirong, one of Mr Chen’s best-known supporters, is understood to have been arrested at her home in Nanjing yesterday. Speaking before the arrest, she said Mr Chen had been able to slip out of his house on Sunday, adding that she later picked him up and drove him to “a relatively safe place”.

She handed him to another individual who, in turn, called US-based activist Bob Fu yesterday to say Mr Chen was safe.

Ms He said state security had begun a full-scale search for Mr Chen by Thursday, but denied a report he had entered the US embassy in Beijing that evening.

The embassy would not comment, while local Chinese officials could not be contacted. The phone lines in Dongshigu had seemingly been disconnected.