View video report, courtesy NTDTV
BEIJING—A blind Chinese activist trying to call attention to forced abortion and other abuses of China's one-child policy was beaten and left bleeding on the street, a lawyer and a Washington-based radio station said on Wednesday.
Chen Guangcheng, whose whistleblowing in the eastern province of Shandong earlier this year prompted the government to sack and and detain several officials, was found bleeding on a street in his home village of Dongshigu.
Chen was beaten on Tuesday after three lawyers arrived in town to meet the activist and negotiate with local officials for lifting the virtual house arrest under which he has been living, Radio Free Asia reported.
“Chen Guangcheng was bleeding from several cuts and injuries to his arms, and also sustained an injury to his leg,” the radio service quoted one villager as saying.
“One of his teeth was loose, too. The government officials refused to take him to seek medical attention, but they sent a doctor to get his blood pressure checked.” The lawyers were also roughed up by a group of unidentified men and then taken to a police station in a nearby township.
“I wish to use my flesh and blood body to realise the humble and tiny dream of a citizen of low rank—to visit a blind friend who has been illegally detained,” lawyer Xu Zhiyong told Reuters in a mobile phone text message.
Xu and the other lawyers, as well as local officials, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Additional reporting by Benjamin Kang Lim
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