Blind rebel Chen Guangcheng gets book deal
Framed family photos, including one of Chen (top L), hangs from a wall at his family home in the village of Dongshigu in Shandong Province, 600km southeast of Beijing. Chen's mum has described the details of their home detention and the authorities' reprisals against the family after his flight to America, where he now lives with his wife and two kids.
Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, a blind dissident who left his country after seeking refuge in the US Embassy, will publish a memoir next year, his publisher said on Tuesday.
In April, Chen made headlines worldwide when he escaped 19 months of house arrest and sought protection from America, days ahead of a diplomatic visit to China by US Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton.
"This is an opportunity for me to share with the world the true conditions in China, especially in the vast stretches of rural China," Chen said in a statement from his publisher Times Books, a division of Macmillan.
Chen, 40, was born with a high fever that left him blind in infancy and he grew up in great poverty. A self-taught lawyer, he hoped to defend himself and help others fight for civil rights in the villages outside China's modern cities.
For more than 20 years, he spoke out against government policies and was arrested and jailed in 2006, after bringing a lawsuit against China's one-child policy. Upon his release four years later, Chen was placed under house arrest in Linyi in eastern Shandong province, from which he escaped to seek refuge in the US Embassy.
After days of diplomacy between America and China, he was allowed to travel to New York City to study law. Times Books said it expects to publish Chen's memoir in fall 2013.
Wang Jinxiang, Chen's mum, stands outside their home in the village.
Chen Guangfu, Chen's eldest brother, stands in his brother's old room.
Chen with his wife Yuan Weijing in New York. Chen, who took refuge in the US embassy, where he stayed for six days and sparked a diplomatic crisis between China and America, is starting his studies at New York University School Of Law under a deal reached between the two countries.
Source: Reuters
Published: 18th July 2012
