Reflections on blind activist Chen Guangcheng's 5th Anniversary arriving in the United States

Reggie with Chen Guangcheng after his arrival in the United States

May 19 marked the five-year anniversary of Chen Guangcheng’s arrival in the United States.  WRWF President Reggie Littlejohn advocated tirelessly for Chen’s release from 2008 until his 2012 release and led an international coalition to free him.  What follows are her personal reflections at the time of this anniversary.

Reggie testifies on behalf of Chen Guancheng at a Congressional Hearing May 19, 2012 was perhaps the most exciting day of my life.  After years of non-stop international advocacy, several emergency Congressional hearings (called by Rep. Chris Smith, without whose dedicated efforts Chen would likely never have made it to the United States), weeks of struggle with the Chinese government and several sleepless nights, I was standing at the Newark airport, waiting for the arrival of the man whose plight had become the central focus of my life.

Rep. Chris Smith joined Reggie's "Sunglasses Campaign" to free Chen. My heart went out to Chen Guangcheng the first time I read of him.  Blinded by an illness at age three, he and his wife, Yuan Weijing, had displayed almost supernatural courage and compassion, documenting at great risk to themselves a pattern of brutal forced abortions and sterilizations in Linyi, where they lived.  Women were being dragged out of their homes, strapped to tables and forced to abort babies they wanted up to the ninth month of pregnancy.  Whole villages were fleeing to sleep in the surrounding fields to hide from Family Planning Police.  Relatives of an illegally pregnant woman in hiding were being detained and tortured. Chen was detained and then placed under severe house arrest for years for exposing these atrocities, and the Chinese government heavily persecuted his entire, extended family, detaining and torturing them as well.

The day Chen's escape was made public, Reggie was leading activists to protest the detention of Chen Guangcheng in front of the Chinese Embassy in Dublin. Now, five years after first setting foot on U.S. soil, Chen and his family are living safely in the Washington, D.C. area.  His home is filled with light and life.  He and Weijing just had their third child, a beautiful boy who is the joy of the family.  Chen continues his advocacy and has invited me to collaborate with him.  We have appeared together on Voice of America, spoken together at the Heritage Foundation, testified together at Congress.  Every time I go to see his family, it still feels like an impossible dream come true.  One of the greatest heroes of the twenty-first century, a man whose courage I cannot begin to comprehend much less imitate, is now my good friend.  I can only respond with humility and gratitude.

Reggie was deeply humbled to be included with Chen on his first interview on Voice of America from U.S. soil.  And yet, five years after Chen’s arrival in the United States, and despite his passionate advocacy to end it, coercive population control in China remains.  China has shifted from a One Child Policy to a Two Child Policy.  This modification was presented by the Chinese government as an “abandonment” of the One Child Policy, implying that all coercive population control had ended.  No so.  Unmarried women and women pregnant with a third child still face forced abortion.  The sex-selective abortion and abandonment of baby girls continues, especially for second daughters.  The fight continues.  But now, instead of fighting the lonely battle for Chen’s life and freedom on the other side of the world, I have the honor of facing the battle shoulder to shoulder with him – with one of the greatest human rights champions the world has ever known, someone I honor and admire more than words can ever say.

Rep. Chris Smith, Chen Guangcheng and Reggie present together at The Heritage Foundation.

YES, I WANT TO HELP END GENDERCIDE AND FORCED ABORTION IN CHINA! Your donation enables Women’s Rights Without Frontiers to continue to be a voice for the voiceless women and children of China. This huge effort comes at a cost. We need your support. Please give as generously as you can. Every donation makes a difference!

P.O. Box 54401 | San Jose, CA 95154 www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org