On May 2, 2012, Xinhua issued a brief report saying that Chen Guangcheng “entered the U.S. Embassy in China in late April. He left the U.S. Embassy of his own volition after staying there for 6 days.” No other information was mentioned regarding how Chen’s escaped last week from his village home in Linyi in Shandong Province. Chen had been under house arrest since his release from prison in September 2010, after serving his full sentence of four years and three months. The authorities said he "damaged property and organized a mob to disturb traffic." Since 2005 Chen has been receiving increased international attention because of what he actually did. Chen organized a class-action lawsuit against Chinese authorities in Shandong for excessive enforcement of China’s one-child policy (including forced abortions and sterilizations).

In a separate report on May 2, 2012, Xinhua quoted Liu Weimin, China’s foreign affairs spokesperson, who told the U.S. that China demanded an apology. “I would like to emphasize that the U.S. Embassy in China has the obligation to comply with international law and Chinese law and cannot engage in activities inconsistent with its function. China absolutely will not accept this U.S. interference in China’s internal affairs, and demands that the U.S. apologize over this, conduct a thorough investigation of the incident, discipline the personnel involved, and ensure that no similar events will ever occur again.” According to Xinhua, Liu further stated, “What the U.S. should do now is to stop continuing to confuse and to try in every way to quibble and to cover up its own responsibility in this matter. Moreover, it should not continue to interfere in China’s domestic affairs. It should, instead, responsibly and seriously learn from this incident, truly reflect on its policies and approaches, and adopt measures to safeguard the Sino-U.S. relationship.“

On the same day, U.S. Secretary State Clinton issued a statement saying that she was pleased that the U.S. “was able to facilitate Chen Guangcheng’s stay and departure from the U.S. Embassy in a way that reflected his choices and our values.” Her statement further stated that “the United States government and the American people are committed to remaining engaged with Mr. Chen and his family in the days, weeks, and years ahead.”

Sources:
Xinhua, May 2, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2012-05/02/c_111873571.htm
Xinhua, May 2, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2012-05/02/c_111875347.htm
U.S. Department of State, May 2, 2012
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/05/189090.htm

Days before the 4th China US Strategic and Economic Dialog that was to be held on May 3 and 4 in Beijing, People’s Daily oversea’s edition published a commentary warning the U.S. not to send the wrong messages to certain other countries regarding the South China Sea dispute.

The article said that the timing of the dialog was important because it was coming before the upcoming presidential election and the Chinese Communist Party’s 18th National Congress. "China has been openly raising its concerns and making requests in certain areas: that the U.S. should stop its surveillance near China’s coasts; eliminate limitations on high tech exports to China; recognize China’s market economy; and provide a fair trade investment environment for China’s direct investments in the U.S." The article stated, "The U.S. has recently increased its involvement in the Asia Pacific region significantly. For example, the U.S. has been involved in military collaboration with the Philippians, Vietnam, and Australia; established a new military base; conducted military exercises that are growing in scale; has been selling weapons; and even plans to build a missile defense system."

The article said that the U.S. should put an end to its proclivity to challenge China in the South China Sea dispute, let the strategic and economic dialog minimize distrust between the two, and embrace the idea of “cooperation so both sides can benefit.”

Source: People’s Daily, May 2, 2012
http://opinion.people.com.cn/GB/40604/17784619.html

People’s Daily carried an article covering how Tsinghua University conducts training programs for U.S. officials. According to Sun Zhe, director of the Center for China-US Relations under Tsinghua University, the training programs are part of the “World Leadership Training,” an advanced training program sponsored by the Federal Executive Institute based in Virginia. The participants are mainly senior administrative officials from U.S. government departments including the State Department, Department of Defense, and Homeland Security. “If we can continue (to hold this type of program), it can have a fundamental influence on the China U.S. relationship,” Sun told People’s Daily.

The program consists of courses that cover China’s Strategy and Political System, the 18th National Congress, the International Political Climate, the China U.S. Relationship, China’s Military Modernization, its Military and Defense Policy, Foreign Policy, Economic and Trade Policy, and its Energy and Policy Making Process. “These administrative officials are the foundation of the U.S. government. They often make various types of recommendations to top U.S. decision makers. We allow them to learn about China and about what is on our mind so that we can minimize misunderstandings between us. … We can be friends with them and we can thus have some influence on them,” Sun said.

The last time that Tsinghua held this type of training program was in April 2010.

Source: People’s Daily, April 28, 2012
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/17774822.html