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May 3, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In a telephone interview today with CNN, a desperate Chen Guangcheng expressed dismay that U.S. embassy officials in Beijing are no longer answering his telephone calls, even though he has called “numerous” times, and says he feels a “little” like he was lied to by the embassy officials.
After making a James Bond-like escape from house arrest to the U.S. embassy late last week, Chen was transferred to a hospital in Beijing, where he remains to this day. While embassy officials claimed that Chen left the embassy of his own free will, Chen has since testified that he was pressured to do so after his wife was threatened, and has complained that U.S. officials have not accompanied him at the hospital, as they had promised to do.
In his interview with CNN today, conducted at 3 a.m. Beijing time, Chen said that U.S. embassy officials had repeatedly urged him to leave the embassy.
“The embassy kept lobbying me to leave and promised to have people stay with me in the hospital. But this afternoon as soon as I checked into the hospital room, I noticed they were all gone,” he said.
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He also suggested that U.S. officials kept him in the dark about the direness of his situation, preventing him from telephoning friends. While Chen admitted he did agree to leave the embassy, he says: “At the time I didn’t have a lot of information. I wasn’t allowed to call my friends from inside the embassy. I couldn’t keep up with news so I didn’t know a lot of things that were happening.”
“I’m very disappointed at the U.S. government,” he said.
During his conversation with CNN, Chen repeatedly stated that his most “urgent wish” is to leave China.
“I would like to say to (President Obama): Please do everything you can to get our whole family out,” he said.
He also expressed a wish to speak with Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, who is in China at the moment, and leveled an indirect but pointed barb in the direction of the U.S., saying: “I feel everyone focuses too much on their self-interest at the expense of their credibility.”
The human rights activist, who became famous worldwide for exposing the horrendous abuses of China’s one-child policy, also revealed that after his escape his wife was tied up to a chair for two days and threatened with being beaten to death. He also described how Chinese police have taken over his house: “Our home is teeming with security—on the roof and in the yard. They have installed seven surveillance cameras inside the house and built electric fences around the yard.”
When asked if he feels “anxious,” Chen responded: “Yes, we feel a lot of anxiety…. I told the embassy I would like to talk to Rep. Smith (Congressman Chris Smith) but they somehow never managed to arrange it. I feel a little puzzled.”
Rep. Chris Smith is a renowned pro-life legislator who has long attempted to raise awareness about Chen’s plight.