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Who is Chen Guangcheng? Internet lauds Chinese dissident ‘beaten, sent to prison’ for reading braille at RNC 2020

Chen Guangcheng is a Chinese lawyer and human rights advocate who has also been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government

"Standing up to tyranny isn't easy. I know," Chen Guangcheng said while reading Braille to speak out against CCP and communism during the Republican National Convention 2020. "Standing up to tyranny is not easy... When I spoke out against China's one-child policy and other injustices, I was persecuted, beaten, sent to prison and put under house arrest by the Chinese Communist Party," he said. 

In no time Chen became a Twitter favorite as people started praising him and said, "'Standing up to tyranny isn't easy. I know.' Wow, thank you Chen Guangcheng! Keep America free." Another said, "Everyone listen to Chen Guangcheng!!! You do NOT want the United States to become Communist China!" Some even said, "Chen Guangcheng is putting me to tears. He is giving a personal account of his experiences with the Chinese Communist Party. This CANNOT happen in America."

One said, "The Obama-Biden White House stood up to China, authorized the Embassy to rescue Chen Guangcheng from the streets of Beijing, gave him refuge, and secured his release to America. Trust me, I was there with @HillaryClinton. Defending human rights is more than just talk."

While some described his speech as, "Chen Guangcheng, Chinese human Rights Activist, shares his account of persecution after speaking out against CCP. Says he was given shelter by American embassy in Beijing after escaping. Urges people to support President Trump 'for the sake of the world'." And some adored him and said, "Chen Guangcheng, a Chinese dissident who was punished by the Chinese Communist Party, is reading braille while speaking at the RNC convention. WOW."

One said "I am grateful for the activism of people like Chen Guangcheng against the Communist Party of China. That said, I don't think he represents most dissidents in his support of President Trump."

Another said, "This gentleman’s message tonight brought me to tears. God bless him and his family. #chenguangcheng #GOPConvention2020."

Who is Chen Guangcheng?

Chen Guangcheng is a Chinese lawyer and human rights advocate who has also been an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, particularly their policies related to forced abortions and sterilizations. Chen grew up in extreme poverty in China's countryside in 1970, at a time when the country was in the middle of a sociopolitical restructuring — Communist Party leader Mao Zedong’s so-called Cultural Revolution.

He lost his eyes when he was five months old, following an illness. During the years, he took several operations but it didn't work out for him. He studied in a government school for the blind. He is a divisive figure not only in China but also among the overseas dissident community. He has previously faced criticism for espousing right-wing views that many activists consider to be antithetical to the fight for human rights in China. 

According to the Catholic news agency, Chen later launched a campaign to give free bus rides to the blind. At the time, there were laws on the books in China to provide services and accommodations for the blind and disabled, but in practice, these were rarely enforced. He spoke out in protest, urging the government to enforce the laws and treat disabled people fairly.

Under China's one-child policy, that was imposed in 1980, in order to curb population growth, families were not allowed to have more than one child. According to a CNA report, women who had more than one baby were punished, especially in rural areas. Under the policy, the Chinese Communist Party arrested around 130,000 people for forced abortion or sterilization. Experts have estimated that the policy prevented some 400M births. It was replaced by a two-child policy in 2015. Chen was also charged with “over birthing", because he and his wife had a second child in defiance of the one-child policy.

"Under the name of the Communist Party, the CCP was dragging pregnant women out of their homes, stuffing them in vehicles — sometimes without even putting on clothes — and taking them to reproductive planning clinics for forced abortions, where they would give them an injection to kill the baby and then induce it out," Chen told CNA in February 2019. “If they couldn’t find these (pregnant women), they would grab their relatives and family members."

A squad was sent to capture him in September 2005, placing him briefly under a formal house arrest in June 2006. He says he was subjected to maltreatment and torture during his arrest. After his four years inside the jail, Chen and his family were kept under house arrest starting 2010. In 2012, in a dramatic escape, he slipped past the guards and scaled a wall in the middle of the night, breaking his foot in the process.

Later, New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith helped him and Chen was granted asylum in the US in 2012 and has been living in Washington DC with his family since then. "Since Chen made it to the United States, it’s actually gotten worse in China under the current president. The religious freedom issue has gone from unconscionable to worse, which some thought could never happen,” Congressman Smith told CNA in February 2019.