A Chinese human rights activist brought to the United States by the Obama administration appeared at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, where he praised President Donald Trump.
After a month of tense negotiations, Chen is finally allowed to leave China and move to the US, where he has ever lived.
Ahead of his speech at the RNC, he wrote a video of a pro-Trump protester placing a Black Lives Matter display in New York in the caption, "Freedom." In prepared remarks sent before the speech, Chen attacked the "policy of appeasement of former administrations including Obama and Biden", which he said, "allowed the CCP to infiltrate and confirm various aspects of the global community." " However, in the RNC's live speech, he did not mention Obama.
Tough on China
Relations with Beijing have fallen under Trump, who has made China a key issue of his campaign.
In a speech on Tuesday, Trump's Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, also launched an attack against Beijing and praised Trump for "returning the veil to the Chinese Communist Party's predator invasion". According to the Pew Research Center, Americans on both sides "now see China a lot more negatively than in recent times," with an 83% Republican poll saying they have an unfavorable outlook for the country.
Many Chinese dissidents living in the US are vocal supporters of Trump's hard-line on disgruntled China.
Chen is closely associated with Bob Fu, an Orthodox Christian pastor who described himself as "God's double agent". Fu met Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence and praised Trump on social media.
Teng Biao, a human rights lawyer who once represented Chen, tweeted on Wednesday that "for Chinese human rights defenders, there is zero logical consistency to support Trump." "I am a good friend and lawyer of Chen Guangcheng, but I completely oppose what he is doing," he said.
'Enemy of humanity'
In his remarks at the RNC, Chen said that "it is not easy to stand up to atrocities. I know that." "When I spoke out against China's' one-child policy and other injustice, I was persecuted, beaten, and put under house arrest by the government," he said.
"In April 2012, I survived and was sheltered at the US Embassy in Beijing. I am forever grateful to welcome America and my family to the United States where we are now free." Blind since childhood, Chen taught himself law and became involved in human rights activism, particularly around issues of forced abortion and other abuses related to the "one-child policy". In 2006, he was imprisoned for the first time for four years, after which he was kept under close detention for years to escape the 2012 theatrical drama.
Bale was attacked by a security guard and the team was prevented from entering the house where the Chen was held.
During his speech on Wednesday, Chen called the Chinese Communist Party an "enemy of humanity" a "threat to China's well-being," listing a range of issues, including China's persecution of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang, the ongoing violence in Hong Kong, And a threat to Taiwan.
Echoing Trump, Chen said that the "coronavirus epidemic, originated in China - and covered by the CCP - has led to mass deaths and social upheavals around the world."
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