Chen starts life in US

US: Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng began his new life in the United States on Sunday after a warm welcome but in Beijing he leaves behind a diplomatic mess that may prevent him ever returning home.

Chen, a self-taught lawyer, landed in New York with his wife and two young children on Saturday to a rapturous reception from his hosts and he quickly praised the “restraint and calm,” shown by the Chinese government in his case.

The 40-year-old, who is to become a research fellow at New York University’s School of Law, has repeatedly said he is not seeking exile in the United States and may one day want to go back to China.

But the Chinese government’s decision to allow a convicted citizen to leave its territory just weeks after he managed to flee house arrest and caused them huge international embarrassment is unlikely to be forgotten, analysts said.

“It will be very difficult,” retired Shandong University professor Sun Wenguang told AFP. “The authorities will not welcome him back.

“He brought on diplomatic turmoil and became a focus of the international press.”

AFP