It intentionally ignored Chen’s efforts over the last decade to fight for human rights and why he fled house arrest. It also failed to mention that Chen has always said he wants to dedicate himself to seeing rule of law in China, not dedicate himself to studying abroad.
When Chen escaped, he publicly exposed the brutality of the local PLAC and said he would not leave China. Even now, Chen has made it clear that he will go abroad only to rest temporarily and he intends to come back.
The Global Times said, “When it comes to protecting personal freedom, there is not much difference between China and the United States. Chen’s case was deadlocked in the past largely because it involved social order. However, when personal freedom is the only concern, it is a lot easier to solve the problem.” The implication is that the U.S. government is no different than the Chinese Communist regime in putting national interest before human rights.
The headline of the article reads, “Don’t use fundamental values to analyze a basic grassroots dispute.” What it calls a “grassroots dispute” is the torture Chen suffered at the hands of local law enforcement officials in his hometown in Shandong Province. Chen exposed the gross corruption in his case that was cloaked under the banner of “maintaining stability.” Using the law to resolve this grassroots dispute was one of the three demands that Chen made to Premier Wen Jiabao in his video appeal for help. The title of the editorial should remind people that the crimes committed by Zhou and the PLAC are inexcusable.
The Global Times’ article is very deceptive. It ignored Chen’s genuine ideals and his demand for an investigation of the PLAC—something Zhou would never want to see.
It turned Chen’s case into the private matter of an individual wishing to study abroad and blurred the moral principles that the United States upholds. It also diverted people’s attention and created the false impression that Chen is able to study abroad “according to the law.”
Read the original Chinese article.
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