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Blind Dissident Chen Guangcheng Issues Statement through His Friend

Below is a latest statement that blind dissident Chen Guangcheng conveyed through his friend Guo Yushan. The statement was published through weibo.com in picture form and can be found on the overseas Chinese websites of epochtimes.com and boxun.com. The statement is based on the telephone conversation between the two which took place from 22:58 to 23:40 p.m. Beijing time on May 3. Guo Yushan rephrased the words and these are not Chen’s original words. Below is a translation of the statement.

1. Chen didn’t tell the media that he wanted to apply for political asylum in the United States. He only said that he wanted to go to the United States for a vacation for a couple of months (while the situation is dealt with). He received an invitation letter from New York University. As he is now free, he wants to travel to the U.S. for a period of time and then come back to China. Therefore, going to the U.S. has nothing to do with his changing his mind about seeking asylum. He appreciates the Sino-U.S. diplomatic efforts and understands the seriousness of the diplomacy between these two big countries. Since they reached an agreement they must have treated the issue very seriously.

2. He has never, directly or indirectly, criticized the U.S. embassy for “forcing” him or inducing him to leave the embassy. It was his own decision to leave the embassy. He appreciates the embassy’s help over the past week. He appreciates Secretary Hillary, Gary Locke, and other diplomats who have cared about and helped him. He never complained (about them), directly or indirectly.

3. On the first day of his being admitted to the hospital, something unpleasant indeed happened, causing him and his family inconvenience and suffering. Because of this, he was somewhat worried and nervous. Among all, he was particularly worried when he learned that the officials from his home Shandong had threatened his wife. He hopes that, with all the media attention from the world, the Chinese government will truly deal, based on the law, with the Shandong local officials’ different incidents of illegal persecution of himself and his family.

4. He appreciates the attention and concern that the media of the whole world has given him. He also hopes that the media can understand how complicated and delicate his situation is and have a complete understanding of how it is reflected in his expression and corresponding emotions. He hopes he will not bring trouble to all the friends who have helped him and are now helping him and cause any misunderstandings. For example, regarding the help U.S. Embassy has provided him, he never had any criticism; on the contrary, he has always been grateful.

Source: Epochtimes.com and Boxun.com, May 3, 2012
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/12/5/4/n3580826.htm陈光诚委托郭玉闪发表的最新声明