Blind Chinese activist Chen arrives in United States

Blind Chinese activist Chen arrives in United States

Posted: 19 May 2012 07:53 PM PDT

Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng arrived in the United States on Saturday and declared "equality and justice have no boundaries" after China let him leave a Beijing hospital to quell a sensitive diplomatic rift between the two countries.

Chen, family finally on way to United States

Posted: 19 May 2012 05:22 PM PDT

Chinese activist Chen Gaungcheng, who was at the center of a diplomatic crisis with Washington, left for the US on Saturday to pursue higher studies.

Chen Guangcheng arrives in US but fears remain for family in China

Posted: 19 May 2012 06:09 PM PDT

Chinese activist touches down at Newark a month after escape from house arrest and vows to continue fight for human rights

The blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has arrived to begin a new life in the United States while vowing to keep fighting against injustice in his homeland.

The moment was the final leg of a dramatic, month-long escape from house arrest in rural China that ended with him speaking to a throng of press in front New York University where he will become an academic.

"We should link our arms and continue to fight for the goodness in the world and continue to fight injustice … I hope everybody works for me to promote justice and fairness in China," Chen said through an interpreter.

Chen's speech attracted a small crowd of onlookers who cheered him and a few cars honked their horns. "Nothing is impossible as long as you put your heart to it. As we say in Chinese there is no small affair as long as you put your heart to it," he said.

His flight, United Airlines UA88, had departed for Newark almost two hours late from Beijing international airport as a thunderstorm rolled in – a suitably tempestuous climax to one of the most remarkable chapters of courage and injustice in recent Chinese history.

After beatings, imprisonment, injury, embassy refuge and diplomatic wrangling between the two superpowers Chen's departure has stirred a mixture of relief and dismay among activists in China, who are glad Chen is safe but worried that their cause could lose one of its most influential advocates.

New York University in Greenwich Village has said he will study as a fellow at its school of law. "For the past seven years I have never had a day's rest so I have come here for a bit of recuperation in body and in spirit," Chen said.

In April Chen escaped 19 months of extrajudicial house arrest in his rural home in Shandong province. He and his family had been beaten and harassed as Dongshigu village in Linyi was turned into a virtual prison manned by plainclothes guards and filled with security cameras.

This followed more than four years in prison on charges – denied by his lawyers – that he roused a crowd to disrupt traffic and damage property.

Earlier still he had been abducted from the streets of Beijing by Linyi officials when he tried to expose their illegal use of forced abortions and sterilisations to meet family planning goals.

Chen escaped in the night, stumbled across farm fields and met a supporter who drove him to Beijing, where he sought the protection of US diplomats.

After bilateral talks the two governments thrashed out a deal for him to stay in China with greater protection against the Linyi thugs. But this arrangement collapsed within hours as Chen heard that his lawyer, brother and nephew had been beaten while he was left alone in the Beijing hospital where he was being treated for colitis and a broken foot sustained during his escape.

The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, who was visiting Beijing, intervened and helped to arrange permission for Chen, his wife and daughters to travel to the US to study.

His lawyer Liu Weiguo said it was unlikely he would be allowed to return any time soon. "The chance for him to come back is small. I fear the Chinese government won't allow him to come back. This kind of thing has precedents." Chen is said to be unhappy about leaving relatives behind in a village controlled by Linyi's notoriously violent local authorities. But Liu said he did not blame Chen.

"We should look at this from his perspective. He's mentally and physically exhausted now and has been tormented for so many years. For the Chinese rights movement he has done more than enough. We can't ask him to do any more. Now he needs time to rest."

The prominent human rights lawyer Teng Biao said he was happy for Chen and his family. "His safety and freedom are the priority. Whether this is a good thing for the rights movement is secondary now."

Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch said Chen's departure was no cause for celebration as his family remained under pressure and there may be less incentive for the central government to investigate wrongdoing by the local authorities.

More importantly, Bequelin said, it raised questions about the wider environment for activists. "This is a reflection that there is no room for human rights defenders in China. We don't know if this will turn into a temporary stay or exile, but in either case it begs the questions why someone like Chen Guangcheng cannot freely operate in China. What is it that stops the authorities from tolerating or even embracing someone like Chen?"

The situation remains grim for those left behind. Dongshigu, where Chen's mother and other relatives remain, is still under lockdown. His brother has described being beaten for three days after the activist escaped and his nephew Chen Kegui is to be tried for attempted murder after fighting off intruders with a knife.

Independent lawyers have been denied permission to represent him. Several say they have been beaten, intimidated and told not to speak to foreign media.

Jonathan Watts

Paul Harris

From M&S to whisky – China's middle class snap up western goods

Posted: 19 May 2012 04:06 PM PDT

British food and drink producers and retailers are proving there really is a market for selling tea to China

British favourites such as baked beans and cream of mushroom soup have proved an unlikely hit with Chinese shoppers at Marks & Spencer's flagship store in downtown Shanghai.

But it doesn't stop there – shoppers are also stocking up on frozen salmon or cod fillets, ready-made frozen curries, chocolate-chip cookies and porridge oats. Everything is shipped in from Britain. There is even a bakery selling rebaked bread – rolls and pastries that are brought in frozen from the UK.

"We're even selling tea to the Chinese – they like the more interesting infusions," says Stephen Rayfield, country manager for China at M&S.

UK food and drinks manufacturers, along with supermarkets, are queuing up to tap into China's burgeoning taste for western food. At a time when British brands such as Weetabix are being gobbled up by Chinese companies, a growing number of UK businesses hope to grab their own slice of the booming Chinese grocery market.

They have the full support of the UK government. As part of David Cameron's "march of the makers", the government in January announced a drive to boost British food and drink exports to countries like China. Agriculture and food minister Jim Paice flew to Dubai to tout British produce the following month, and is now touring China. Food and drink is one of the biggest sub-sectors of Britain's manufacturing industry, which makes up a tenth of the economy.

"In so many cases the Chinese have taken over our manufacturing base, but with British food they can't do that," says Lance Forman of H Forman & Sons, the last smokery still operating in east London. The firm, founded by a Jewish immigrant from Russia at the start of the last century, has been exporting smoked salmon to Hong Kong for the last 30 years and now wants to break into China. "One hundred years of history – the Chinese can't copy that," he adds.

Chinese eating habits have started to mimic those in the west – the growing middle class has started having cereal for breakfast rather than rice; chocolate, crisps and biscuits as special treats; and using teabags rather than traditional leaf tea. This brings mixed blessings: nutrition experts warn that obesity is already growing among the younger generation in big cities.

China recently overtook the US to become the world's biggest market for grocery shopping, underpinned by an expanding population, a shift to more expensive foods and strong economic growth. It is predicted to grow twice as fast as the US to be worth almost £950bn by 2015 – from £609bn at the end of 2011 – according to industry researchers IGD.

Tesco already has more than 100 stores in China, and Sainsbury's is believed to be in talks with a potential partner about entering the Chinese market. Its team in Shanghai has conducted a thorough feasibility study, following consumers in and out of shops and traditional markets. A spokesman said: "We do not see international expansion as part of our short-term plans but we are exploring other possibilities for growth in the medium to long term."

Sainsbury's is still smarting from its disastrous foray into Egypt in 1999. It pulled out in 2001 after running up losses of more than £100m in just two years in the country, which had no tradition of supermarket shopping. Sainsbury's then chairman, Sir Peter Davis, admitted the company had gone in "too far, too fast".

M&S has four fashion-and-food stores in Shanghai after opening the first one, measuring 5,000 sq metres, in 2008, as well as three others in the smaller cities of Ningbo, Changzhou and Wuhan.

It got off to a rocky start but intends to focus on Shanghai, where a rapidly growing new strata of Chinese society – the urban rich – has developed a taste for western brands from Prada to Gucci, along with French wine, Spanish olive oil and British biscuits and beer. Shanghai is the world's fastest-growing city economy, with a population of more than 20 million.

Chinese food importer Gorden Wei, chairman of Shanghai Ted Enterprises and vice-president of the Shanghai Import Food Enterprises Association, says Chinese consumers are "quite conceptual". That is to say, they associate wine with France (in particular Château Lafite Rothschild from the Bordeaux region), chocolate with Belgium and whisky with Scotland.

He worries that Chinese shoppers are not sophisticated enough to remember more than a handful of western brands. "We're doing a missionary job; we're educating people about other brands," says Wei. He also warns British exporters not to expect to sell in big volumes, arguing that goods such as Campbells Shortbread are regarded as a "high-end product" in China.

But this does not worry Rayfield at M&S, who has seen "made in Britain" food and drink fly off the shelves in the six months he has been in Shanghai. Some 17,000 packs of crisps and nuts were sold in the last quarter, more than double the level a year ago, as well as 35,000 pieces of frozen fish, up 26%.

Much of the western food available, such as biscuits and chocolate, is bought by consumers as gifts for others or treats for themselves.

"We're at the top end of the market," says Rayfield. "The Chinese customer sees us for that as well. They come in to top up, to buy a treat from us. We're not going to be an everyday supermarket." That doesn't come as a big surprise after a quick look at the high price tag.

Similarly, in the City Shop adjacent to the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Shanghai – part of a local supermarket chain – a box of Dorset Cereals muesli is priced at 104 yuan – roughly £10. A pack of PG Tips is 78 yuan. This shop caters mainly for expats, but a new, bigger City Shop has now opened in downtown Shanghai to lure in Chinese shoppers.

Different taste buds are another challenge. For example, Chinese customers found Cadbury's chocolate too sweet initially, recounts Elina Wen, purchasing director at importer Pinlive (Shanghai) Foods.

As in other countries, Tesco has adapted its ranges to cater for local tastes. For example, it stocks lots of bulk rice, many different types of live fish and has a dim sum counter. It also offers a wide range of baby products – formula milk, disposable nappies, strollers and bikes – because China's one-child policy means that families spend a lot of money on their only child.

Tesco has opened more than 100 hypermarkets along the Chinese east coast since its launch there in 2004. It has also developed its own shopping malls, branded "Lifespace", which are anchored by a Tesco store. At last count sales in the country had reached £1.3bn.

Tyrrells crisps, made on a farm in Herefordshire, have also found their way to China through a big Shanghai-based distributor, Sinodis, which also distributes Weetabix, Haribo and Dr Oetker. "If you want a little bit of England, Tyrrells is for you," says the firm's marketing director, Oliver Rudgard. "The Chinese market is very similar to India: it has not reached its full potential. The large retail brands only have tens of outlets. As they grow, we grow with them."

Julia Kollewe

G8 summit: Barack Obama says leaders in agreement over Iran and Syria – video

Posted: 19 May 2012 09:59 AM PDT

The US president, Barack Obama, welcomes the leaders of the G8 countries to a summit at Camp David in Maryland

Chen Guangcheng has left China for US, say officials

Posted: 19 May 2012 05:00 AM PDT

US state department confirms Chinese activist and his family have left Beijing on flight for Newark, New Jersey

Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese activist whose escape from a rural village set off a diplomatic tussle between Beijing and Washington, has left China on a flight to the United States with his family, according to US officials.

A woman at the United Airlines counter at Beijing airport told Reuters that Chen's luggage was checked in for the flight to Newark, New Jersey, and he was later seen on the flight by reporters.

A spokeswoman for the US state department confirmed the departure of Chen and his family. "We are looking forward to his arrival in the United States later today. We also express our appreciation for the manner in which we were able to resolve this matter and to support Mr Chen's desire to study in the US and pursue his goals," she said.

Earlier, Chen told the Associated Press that he had left hospital and was at the Beijing airport. He said his wife and two children were with him but they did not yet have their passports. Also with him were hospital and border control staff.

Chen escaped illegal house arrest in his rural town last month and sought the protection of US diplomats. He had been awaiting permission to travel to the US to study.

The departure of Chen, his wife and two children seemed hastily arranged and entirely orchestrated by Chinese and American officials with no apparent input from the activist.

Chen said he was informed at the hospital just before noon Saturday to pack his bags and get ready to leave. Officials did not give him and his family passports or inform them of their flight details until after they got to the airport.

Seeming ambivalent, Chen said he was "not happy" about leaving and that he had a lot on his mind, including worries about retaliation against his extended family back home.

"I hope that the government will fulfil the promises it made to me, all of its promises," Chen said. Such promises included launching an investigation into abuses against him and his family in Shandong province, he said before the phone call was cut off.

The departure of Chen and his family would mark the removal of a sticking point in already difficult US-China relations that have been marred by China's handling of human rights. The US embassy was not immediately available for comment.

Nicholas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch said Chen's departure would be no cause for celebration as his family were still under pressure and there might be less incentive for the central government to investigate wrongdoing by local authorities. More importantly, Bequelin said, it raised questions about the wider environment for activists.

"This is a reflection of the fact that there is no room for human rights defenders in China. We don't know if this will turn into a temporary stay or exile, but in either case, it begs the questions why someone like Chen Guangcheng cannot freely operate in China. What is it that stops the authorities from tolerating or even embracing someone like Chen?"

The development came about three weeks after Chen arrived at the Chaoyang hospital from the US embassy, where he had taken refuge after a dramatic escape from 19 months under house arrest in his home village.

In 2006 Chen was sentenced to more than four years in jail on charges – vehemently denied by his wife and lawyers – that he whipped up a crowd that disrupted traffic and damaged property.

He was formally released in 2010 but remained under strict house arrest in his home village in north-eastern Shandong province, which officials turned into a fortress of walls, security cameras and guards in plain clothes who kept Chen isolated.

The village of Dongshigu, where Chen's mother and other relatives remain, is still under lockdown.

The US embassy had earlier thought it had struck a deal to allow Chen to stay in China without retribution, but that fell apart as Chen grew worried about his family's safety. He changed his mind about staying in China and asked to travel to the United States.

Human rights are a major factor in relations between China and the United States, even though the US needs China's help on issues such as Iran, North Korea, Sudan and the fragile global economy.

Jonathan Watts

Chen Guancheng at Beijing airport waiting to leave for US

Posted: 19 May 2012 02:32 AM PDT

Blind activist at centre of diplomatic storm says he and family expect to fly out once Chinese officials bring them passports

Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese activist whose escape from a rural village set off a diplomatic tussle between Beijing and Washington, says he is at an airport waiting to leave for the United States.

Chen told the Associated Press that he had left hospital and was at the Beijing airport. He was expecting to leave for the US later on Saturday.

He said his wife and two children were with him but they did not yet have their passports. Also with him were hospital and border control staff.

Chen escaped illegal house arrest in his rural town last month and sought the protection of US diplomats. He had been awaiting permission to travel to the US to study.

The US state department has said US visas for Chen, his wife and children are ready for them to travel to America.

Chen told Reuters by telephone: "I'm at the airport now. I've already left the hospital. But there are many things that are still unclear.

"Yes, I might be heading for a flight to the United States, but I haven't been told, and I haven't received our passports, so I'm not sure yet. We're waiting to find out what's happening."

In 2006 Chen was sentenced to more than four years in jail on charges – vehemently denied by his wife and lawyers – that he whipped up a crowd that disrupted traffic and damaged property.

He was formally released in 2010 but remained under strict house arrest in his home village in north-eastern Shandong province, which officials turned into a fortress of walls, security cameras and guards in plain clothes who kept Chen isolated.

The village of Dongshigu, where Chen's mother and other relatives remain, is still under lockdown.

The US embassy had earlier thought it had stuck a deal to allow Chen to stay in China without retribution, but that fell apart as Chen grew worried about his family's safety. He changed his mind about staying in China and asked to travel to the United States.

Human rights are a major factor in relations between China and the United States, even though the US needs China's help on issues such as Iran, North Korea, Sudan and the fragile global economy.

Jonathan Watts

(Photos) Chen Guangcheng Arrives at Newark Airport, Misses Greeters

Posted: 19 May 2012 02:59 PM PDT

Chen Guangcheng landed safely at Newark Airport on Saturday, but missed the greeters who had been waiting hours.

What Chen Guangcheng's Arrival in America Means

Posted: 18 May 2012 09:00 PM PDT

Chen Guangcheng arrived at Newark's Liberty International Airport on Saturday night, a face-saving sign of a maturing superpower rivalry between the United States and China. But this is not detente.

Chen Guangcheng's First Public Words in US

Posted: 19 May 2012 02:34 PM PDT

Chen Guangheng speeks at NYU in New York after leaving China.

Blind Chinese Dissident Leaves on Flight for U.S.

Posted: 18 May 2012 09:00 PM PDT

Chen Guangcheng, the blind lawyer whose escape from house arrest jolted relations between the United States and China, followed a hastily arranged flight with an open-air news conference in New York.

Chen Guangcheng arrives in US but fears remain for family in China

Posted: 19 May 2012 06:09 PM PDT

Chinese activist touches down at Newark a month after escape from house arrest and vows to continue fight for human rights

The blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng has arrived to begin a new life in the United States while vowing to keep fighting against injustice in his homeland.

This followed more than four years in prison on charges – denied by his lawyers – that he roused a crowd to disrupt traffic and damage property.

Earlier still he had been abducted from the streets of Beijing by Linyi officials when he tried to expose their illegal use of forced abortions and sterilisations to meet family planning goals.

Chen escaped in the night, stumbled across farm fields and met a supporter who drove him to Beijing, where he sought the protection of US diplomats.

The US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, who was visiting Beijing, intervened and helped to arrange permission for Chen, his wife and daughters to travel to the US to study.

Independent lawyers have been denied permission to represent him. Several say they have been beaten, intimidated and told not to speak to foreign media.

Jonathan Watts

Paul Harris

From M&S to whisky – China's middle class snap up western goods

Posted: 19 May 2012 04:06 PM PDT

British food and drink producers and retailers are proving there really is a market for selling tea to China

British favourites such as baked beans and cream of mushroom soup have proved an unlikely hit with Chinese shoppers at Marks & Spencer's flagship store in downtown Shanghai.

"We're even selling tea to the Chinese – they like the more interesting infusions," says Stephen Rayfield, country manager for China at M&S.

M&S has four fashion-and-food stores in Shanghai after opening the first one, measuring 5,000 sq metres, in 2008, as well as three others in the smaller cities of Ningbo, Changzhou and Wuhan.

Much of the western food available, such as biscuits and chocolate, is bought by consumers as gifts for others or treats for themselves.

Different taste buds are another challenge. For example, Chinese customers found Cadbury's chocolate too sweet initially, recounts Elina Wen, purchasing director at importer Pinlive (Shanghai) Foods.

Julia Kollewe

guardian.co.uk

Update: Chen Guangcheng Arrives in United States

Posted: 19 May 2012 03:01 PM PDT

Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng (C) and his wife Yuan Weijing (R) arrive at the New York University Village apartment complex in Manhattan in New York, May 19. (Mladen Antonov/AFP/GettyImages)

Update: Chen Guangcheng arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport with his wife and children just after 6 pm. Eastern time. He did not meet with reporters upon arrival.

NEWARK , N. J.—After years of persecution and house arrest, a dramatic escape to the American embassy in Beijing, a confused departure and hospitalization, and the harassment and detention of family members, blind activist Chen Guangcheng is finally on the flight to Newark Airport.

It's what Reggie Littlejohn, an activist against the Chinese regime's one-child policy and president of Women's Rights Without Frontiers, calls the "most exciting moment" in her life.

Littlejohn received a call from Congressman Chris Smith this morning inviting her to "walk Chen and his family out of the airport."

"I have been advocating for Chen Guangcheng since 2008 when I testified at the European Parliament," said a joyous Littlejohn. "I just never thought this moment would ever happen, and here it is!"

"I think there is probably a struggle inside of the Chinese Communist Party. We were all hoping and praying and working, just trying to help him so that the people [in the regime] that want to do the right thing and let him go would be the ones that would win," Littlejohn said. "It's incredible."

United Airlines flight 88 is expected to arrive at 6:25 p.m. eastern time, according to the digital display in the airport.

Chen Guangcheng's Family on a Flight to the US

Wang Xuezhen, a supporter of Chen from his hometown, bought a big Snoopy stuffed animal for Chen's children. "I am the only supporter of him from China that has come to the U.S.," Wang said proudly.

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Chen Guangcheng to Skip Media at US Airport, Hold Rally Later

Posted: 19 May 2012 11:08 AM PDT

Chen Guangcheng is due to arrive in the next 20 minutes at Newark Airport. The US State Department will not have Chen meet with greeters or be interviewed by media at the airport.

Survivor of 1989 Student Massacre Demands Return to Home Country

Posted: 19 May 2012 01:45 PM PDT

Chinese dissident Wuer Kaixi, one of the main student leaders from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, speaks at Taoyuan airport on June 4, 2009, after a failed bid to enter Macau to turn himself in to the Chinese government. (Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images)

A student leader of the 1989 Tiananmen protests in Beijing approached the Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C. on Friday in a bid to be allowed to return to China. He was ignored by embassy staff. Wu'er Kaixi concluded the protest visit by reading a personal statement expressing his hope to be able to return to China and spend time with his elderly parents.

Wu'er said that his "effort and fight to go back home will never stop."

It was the former student activist's third attempt to approach the Chinese regime to be allowed to return home to China. Before the anniversary of the June 4 incident in 2009, Wu approached the Communist Party's Liaison Office in Macau and was deported. Again on June 4, 2010, he demanded a dialogue with the regime at the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo. After he jumped over the iron fence in front of the embassy he was arrested by Japanese police.

In 2011, Wu'er's entry to Hong Kong was denied as he planned to attend the funeral of Szeto Wah, a prominent political figure of Hong Kong. In a statement published on his official website regarding the issue, he addressed his previous two attempts to approach the Chinese government.

"After I tried to return to China using the form of surrendering, many were shocked to find out that the Chinese government even restricts the overseas travels of my parents and that I have not been able to visit my family for more than 20 years. Many were surprised to see that the Chinese government refused to accept my surrender despite having me on the 'Wanted List,'" Wu said. "Sometimes we take absurdity indifferently. But even if we do so, we should not take absurdity as natural."

Recently, as power struggles in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have intensified, signs of a push for democracy have appeared to surface frequently. Specific search terms related to "June 4" appeared to be temporarily lifted on such Chinese search engines by March 20. Redressing persecuted student activists from the Tiananmen protests was also apparently raised by Wen Jiabao in closed-room Party meetings.

In April, 1989, Wu'er, then a student at Beijing Normal University, participated in mass gatherings on Tiananmen Square that called for a democratic reform in China.

Wu'er Kaixi was one of the student leaders that participated in a dialogue with then premier Li Peng. The crowd was violently suppressed with guns and tanks.

Beijing Discusses Redressing the Tiananmen Square Massacre

Wu left to France shortly after the incident and later studied at Harvard University in the U.S. Presently, he resides in Taiwan and works as a political commentator.

Chinese Security Chief Seems to Keep Grip on Power

Posted: 18 May 2012 09:00 PM PDT

Zhou Yongkang completed a tour of the volatile region of Xinjiang last week, a sign that he still had a firm hold on his post despite having opposed the purging of Bo Xilai.

White House Applauds Activist's Exit From China

Posted: 19 May 2012 07:32 AM PDT

CAMP DAVID, Md. -- The White House has welcomed the arrangement allowing a blind Chinese activist to leave Beijing and fly to the United States with h...

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G8 summit: Barack Obama says leaders in agreement over Iran and Syria – video

Posted: 19 May 2012 09:59 AM PDT

The US president, Barack Obama, welcomes the leaders of the G8 countries to a summit at Camp David in Maryland

Miner in China rescued after 17 days underground

Posted: 19 May 2012 01:19 PM PDT

A miner in northeast China was rescued Saturday after being buried underground for 17 days, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

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