although mr. chen is under the impression that his application for a passport was made last when he was visited by a chinese official and under chinese law blind persons are supposed to be able to apply orally for travel documents, he has not been notified of any further action on the application. with can exception the half-hour each morning and a afternoon that the children are escorted outside by one of the nurse, he and and his family are not allowed to leave the hospital and no one is allowed to see them. anyone who attempts to see mr. chen risks severe retaliation. a lawyer attempted to visit mr. chen many the homt. he was forcibly taken away by police officers. it was later reported that he was beaten so severely that he lost his hearing in at least one year and has been forced to move from beijing until after the 18th party congress. he was here in the united states in october of 2009 and testified twice before the human rights commission. an amazingly heroic man. one of his recommendations was

mr. chen, you are on. >> mr. chen, welcome back. >> translator: i just want to talk to what happened to my other family members. around midnight a group of government led by the local township leader and raided my elder brother's home at midnight. >> translator: around midnight a group of thugs of the local authorities broke into my elder brother's home and just started beating them violently. >> translator: and my elder brother was taken away by this thugs and without any reasoning and then they came back and started beating up my nephew and for -- they use sticks and violently beating up him and then for three hours he's bleeding on his head and his face was not stopped and so this is so violent that my nephew to my knowledge had to defend himself. pinterest >> translator: this attack against my nephew for so-called intentional homicide is totally trumped up charge. and for himself at his own home to be accused of committing this crime of intentional homicide against the intruders is totally absurd and irrationa

mr. chenuangcheng speaks speechless by speakerphone. this is about two hours. >> the meeting will come to order. i want to thank all of you for joining us in this hearing for examining chinese rights defender chen guangcheng, and a lot of his family and others who have been targeted by chinese officials in connection to this case. this hearing will also focus on chen guangcheng cause. he is among the bravest defenders of women's rights in the world. he descended thousands of women from the most egregious, systematic state-sponsored explication and abuse of women in history. perverse forced abortions and involuntary sterilization per tennis one couple child policy. as a result of his defense, he suffered cruel torture, degrading treatment, unjust incarceration, and multiple beatings. the sheer magnitude of this exploitation of women has been largely overlooked and trivialized by many, and even enabled. the united nations population fund has for over 30 years supported and defended and whitewash

in that context, mr. chenoted that security officers had installed seven video cameras and even an electric fence around his house in guangzhou province, saying that they wanted to see what else chen guangcheng would do. as soon as the authorities learned of his escape, they refused to allow his daughter to attend school. for these reasons and he was justifiably worried about the villagers and others who were helping him and what they were being subjected to, including severe, life-threatening retribution. reports that we have received since our corroborating mr. chen's fears. following his escape from house arrest, chinese officials starting breaking into the homes of his family in the same village and running of those who had assisted him for interrogations. when local officials broke into the home of mr. chen's brother, and mr. chen's nephew, chen kegui tried to defend himself with a kitchen knife. he is now in a detention center. i'm extremely concerned for his welfare, as well as other family members. the

>> chen, mr. chen, you are on -- welcome back. [ speaking in foreign language ] [ speaking in foreign language ] [ speaking in foreign language ] >> translator: i just want to talk about what had happened to my other family members after i escaped from my own home. and on april 26th, around midnight, a group of chinese government, the local government hard thugs led by the township leader, and raided my elder brother's home at midnight. [ speaking in foreign language ] >> translator: around midnight there was a group of thugs by the chinese, the local authorities, just broke into my elder brother's home, and started beating them violently. [ speaking in foreign language ] [ speaking in foreign language ] >> translator: and my elder brother was taken away by these thugs and without any reasoning, and then they came back and started beating up my nephew, and for -- used stakes and violently had beaten up him and then for three hours, he's bleeding on his head and his face, which not stopped. so this is s

mr. chen's favor. the chinese zealously guard their public perception. my instinct is after a period of time they will probably be willing to settle this but on chinese terms. >> more likely to settle after that spotlight as shifted to other issues but will not be viewed as a defeat for them at an emotional level. mr. chen's capacity to understand how he could control the international media. the entire world is watching him as he holds two super powers in his arms. i don't think i have ever seen any individual so successfully navigate through the thicket of everything else that is going on in the world. what do you think happens next? will he end up staying in china or do you think he comes to the united states at the engineer of the day. >> obviously at the end of the day it is up to him. he seems to have shifted his position from wanting to stay in china to now recognizing the risk he thought he could manage is now untenable. he is absolutely effectively commanding the global stage, and i think this is going to help him in the long run as long as that

martin patients is in beijing. >> initially, mr. chen was supposed to stay in china and pursue studies. that deal quickly unravelled in a matter of hours after mr. chen said beijing would not guarantee his safety. the blind activist now says he wants to study in the u.s. that position is supported by a the obama administration. mr. chen does not have a passport, although there has been movement on that front. here is what the blind activist had to say to us when we spoke to him a little bit earlier. >> [speaking foreign language] >> people from the immigration administration department have here. we had our pictures taken and forms were filled out. they said within 15 days. once they get the passport, they should not bother with this anymore. they did not promise the passport. they did not say anything definitely. i cannot look at the moment. my wife also needs approval to go outside. i believe it would not let me go out, even if i could walk. >> why is it taking so long for mr. chen to get a passport? beijing doesn't lead to give the im

mr. chen's application for travel documents to leave the country. here's a portion of the state department briefing. >> more than ten days since the secretary left china without mr. chen. i expect that he's -- these conversations with the chinese government are continuing, but i would like to know, one, if you have any information about that but also, two, has it gotten to the point now where you're processing visa paperwork for him and his family. >> let me start by saying that all of the processing on the u.s. side has been completed. we are -- we are ready when he and his government are ready. we have been for more than a week now in terms of his visa to come pursue his studies. he is continuing to work with his government. our information is that those conversations, contacts and processing, it and we've been in regular contact with him two, three times a day every day. >> okay. and just when you say that all the processing is complete, that means for who, him and his wife? >> him, his wife and two children. >> so is the second he gets some kind

mr. chen did before he was imprisoned for more than four years. he was released last year, only to be kept with his family under constant surveillance in a strict house arrest. his family says they were beaten regularly, particularly when they tried to communicate with the outside world. this is what happened in october of last year when a mcclatchy news reporter tried to reach his house to interview him. watch. >> in a split second after the man in black heard i was a journalist, he lunged through the window screaming and tried to drag my news assistant out of the car. this next scene picks up at what followed. the man in black sprinted back to the silver volkswagen and took off after us. >> 11 days ago, mr. chen escaped house arrest and in a daring intrick cattily planned plot, he pretended to be sick and bed ridden for weeks. on a moonless night, he sneaked past sleeping guards and heaved himself over the first of several walls, injured himself badly during his escape. he hurt his foot and

there have been conflicting reports as to whether mr. chen wanted to leave china ever since his dramatic escape from house arrest last week. we're going to bring you the press conference as soon as she starts speaking. first this report by martin patience in beijing. >> china's police have thrown a ring of security around the hospital. dissent isn't tolerated here, as these people outside the building found out. american officials continue to search for a solution to end this crisis. the deputy u.s. ambassador arrived at the hospital with mobile phones for chen guangcheng, but he wasn't allowed to enter the building. speaking on the phone, the blind activist said he'd been detained. >> let me tell you, i can tell you only one thing. my situation right now is very dangerous. for two days, american officials who have wanted to come and see me have not been allowed in. >> he had angered china authorities after exposing abuses under the country's one-child policy. after escaping from house arrest, he fought sanctuary at the u.s. embassy. -- he so

mr. chenlso met with his wife in person. now these developments could help get secretary of state hillary clinton out of a tough spot. mr. chen made a direct appeal to secretary clinton to take him back to the united states with her. mr. chen is still being held in a beijing hospital after his daring escape from house arrest under the cover of night. you'll remember he slipped past chinese guards back on april 22nd. he was then drifg ven to the u. embassy in beijing where he sought refuge until this past wednesday where he left for medical treatment at the hospital where he was reunited with his wife and two children. yesterday chen made it clear he regretted leaving the embassy saying he was concerned for both his and his family's safety. and he said he wanted to leave china with secretary clinton. at a state department press briefing yesterday, spokesman mark toner was asked by our state department producer about america's plan of action. >> we're not sure, in fact, what his intentions are,

official talk to mr. chenor children, nor did chinese officials made such threats to u.s. officials. it was made clear that if c electedhen to stay in the embassy, -- if he decided to stay in the embassy, his family would be returned to their town. at no point during his time in the embassy did mr. chen ever request political asylum in the u.s. he has expressed his desire to stay in china to unify with his family and continue to work to reform his country. all of our diplomacy was directed at putting him in the best possible position to achieve his objectives. >> you are suggesting that at best, he misunderstood. >> i am saying that there was no pressure of any kind placed on him by u.s. officials. >> because you said there were concerns to be raised, he said that his wife tells him he was tight -- she was tied to a chair, beaten by chinese guards after he turned up at the u.s. embassy. how can you believe the chinese government would be trusted to reunify the family of his wife was beaten? >> first of all, i

joining me now is a professor of law at new york university where mr. chen will be steady. mr. cohen, thank you for joining us. how has it been for him to arrive in the u.s.? gretzky is doing very well. i just -- >> he is doing very well. i just had dinner with him and his wife. they have only been here 50 hours, but they are already adjusting. good indeed, 50 hours in the united states. as you mentioned, still adjusting to the new life in america. you mentioned in another conversation that mr. chen is seriously troubled because he cannot protect others who protected him in china. >> that is right. he inevitably feel guilty about leaving, especially his nephew, who is locked up in criminal the tension in their village -- criminal the tension in their village. and others also who aided him when he got to beijing and needed shelter before he found his way to the american embassy. >> now that he is just a few days in the united states, has he already told you what his future plans are? does he still planned to eventually go back to china? >> yes, that is the hope. he has come here

university has offered mr. chen a law fellowships. >> progress as a maid to help him get the future that he wants. we will be staying in touch with him. >> for now, hillary clinton wraps up meetings with chinese leaders and prepares to leave. there is no resolution of the crisis with chen guangcheng. there is an opposite t2 and it -- -- there is an opportunity to end it, but will china let him go? >> will of the unemployment numbers provide ample fodder for both republicans and democrats? job creation has slowed for a second straight month. the u.s. economy has created 150,000 jobs in april. president obama said that it is time for the congress to do something about it. >> if we are going to recover all the jobs that were lost during the recession, and if we're going to rebuild a secure economy that strength is a middle class, then we will have to do more. that is why i will urge congress, as they start getting back to work, to take some action on some common sense ideas right now that can accelerate even more job g

mr. chen's advantage. at some point in time china, while it's a very sensitive time for them, they are very concerned about the emergence of a beijing awakening or beijing spring if you will. they are beginning a transition from the presidency of hu jintao and they are embarrassed by revelations regarding their leadership inner circle who may have complicity with the death of a british citizen. so all of this is into the mix. i expect at some point the u.s. will be able to again resolve this case based on mr. chen's wishes but it will take time. >> i want to bring in the panel here. there's obviously you know, a foreign policy aspect here, quite a large one. also this is playing out domestically. john boehner criticizing the president in a way saying the united states has an obligation to stand with the oppressed not with the oppressor. having handed chen guangcheng back over to the chinese government the obama administration is responsible for ensuring his safety. governor rendell, is that a fair implicat

mr. chen's situation has become political fodder for candidate mitt romney. listen to what he had to say -- >> our embassy failed to put in place the verifiable measures that would ensure the safety of mr. chen and his family. if these reports are true, this is a dark day for freedom and it's a day of shame for the obama administration. we are a place of freedom. here and around the world and we should stand up and defend freedom wherever it is under attack. >> in fact, the chinese government now says they will accept mr. chen's plection for travel documents but there is no telling how long that process could take. pull on those gardening gloves. and let's see how colorful an afternoon can be. with certified advice to help us expand our palette... ...and prices that give us more spring per dollar... ...we can mix the right soil with the right ideas. ...and bring even more color to any garden. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. lay down a new look, with earthgro mulch, now three bags for just $10. hi, i just switched jobs, and i want

mr. chen's arrival.e has been really working on his case for more than ten years now and was there to greet him at newark airport when he touched down. it is nice to have you. >> thanks very much. >> my pleasure. >>> you saw him and we've certainly gotten a chance to see him as he made his brief statement. >> he looked very weak. his ankle was broken. in the escape. totally jet lagged. had a little car sickness. you know, he is going to have to have some time to heal and recuperate because he has been through a trauma both physically and emotionally as well as his wife and children. and his extended family as we all know who are still at grave risk. they're being retaliated against. they shifted they being the chinese government from going after him and beating him routinely to beating his family especially his nephew and brother. >> he has come to the united states with his wife and two children, a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old. >> yes. >> but as you point out there is lots of concern about the family me

technically, you know, mr. chen and his family, they are not criminals and they are supposed to be free citizens and normal chinese citizens are guaranteed constitutional rights. they should be allowed to at least get a passport and to apply for a visa. i think just treat him as he is. i think that's not a big deal. >> pelley: do you see this as the u.s. having leverage here? what should happen? >> well, in the last couple of hours mr. chen has indicated that hi would like to remain in china as a free citizen but he would like to leave for a period of time say as a visiting scholar or international student this might be a very good solution which would be easier for the chinese government to accept than a case of political asylum. >> brown: we'll leave it there for now. susan shirk and >> brown: and one further note-- we've posted online all of chen's cell phone conversation with members of congress this afternoon. you can find the video on our home page. >> suarez: still to come on the newshour: twitter hashtags in

>> this china story with mr. cheneech and freedoms that we have in our country. >> no question about that. >> for me it comes down to mental health whether it's junior seau or whitney houston and ever story we heard depression. we need to take more care and think about mental health in this country preside. >> tomorrow on "starting point" we'll talk to cory booker and also grammy award winning r & b soul singer jazz icon anita baker as well. that's all on "starting point" tomorrow. let's get right to "cnn newsroom." carol costello is there for us this morning. >> good morning to all of you. i'm carol costello. stories we're watching right now in the "newoo

mr. chen and/or his family officially requested asylum from the united states? >> i can tell you as you have seen in media reports that it certainly appears mr. chen and his wife have changed their views about what's best for him and his family. i think as the state department has made clear in the discussions that mr. chen had with officials, state department officials at the embassy, he reiterated his firm desire to stay in china, to reunify with his family in china, to be relocated and our efforts on his behalf were in accordance with those wishes, to try to achieve those goals for him in our consultations with chinese officials. his views have changed as you have seen reported, but i can't comment on the ongoing discussions that he and his wife are having with state department officials or those officials are having with chinese officials. >> the united states is speaking with chen and his family right now and presumably he's had the opportunity to -- >> again, these are ongoing discussion

with the details still marching as to why mr. chen left the nsc, that will cast a shadow over the talks. we understand he has talked to the reuters news agency. he has repeated he wants to leave the country with his family. certainly the sensitive topic for china and america. the u.s. secretary of state, hillary clinton, will come under pressure on this point particularly as in the past, she has spoken about chen guangcheng's case so publicly. >> the u.s. might come under pressure. china wants to apologize for their alleged role in this -- his escape. is there evidence of the u.s. in this case? >> the chinese authorities have said he was taken into the embassy through what it called at normal channels. certainly the american officials confirmed that and said it was a humanitarian case. they said he was given medical treatment in the embassy before leaving to the hospital yesterday. certainly from china opposing point of view, there is a great deal of anger over this case. this has been a huge embarrassment for beijing. once again it i

this photograph was taken from mr. chen is being treated. >> coming up in sports today with me, jenny in half an hour. a new era for english foot ball after a new manager was named before the european championship. france, a missed penalty in injury time. and the man regarded by many as the greatest player of all time, steven hendry, announces his retirement. >> now a year after u.s. troops killed osama bin laden in pakistan, the b.b.c. has a look into his life on the run. some claim he spent the past five years in cavels but a family had been talking to the bbc. >> they didn't want to be identified. they told me that they were alerted to this weeks earlier by someone they simply describe as an important person. they were not given any names, just told a top militant commander and leader was going to come their way and would need to bring his journey. like any tribal family they agreed extend hospitality to this unknown guest. the family said they were stunned to see osama bin laden when he arrived in the middle of the nigh

just yesterday american diplomats were forced to wait outside the building and mr. chen guangcheng said they were not allowed to visit him. in a statement it said mr. chen can apply to study in the u.s. like any other chinese citizen. that suggests there may be a solution at hand to end this crisis. >> now to france where one of the candidates is warning against euphoria and complacency while the other warns against mad experiments with the economy. the frontrunner and incumbent, nicolas sarkozy is at its narrowist. our bbc continue following each and every buildup. katya? >> it's actually quite nail biting. as many people here saying there's rarely in recent years been such a close call in the second round of the elections. it's about economic politics. french people say the economy is number one on their mind and the international market is watching. this is a huge european economy. who will be president will affect the economic policies in the euro zone. joining me to have a chat more about what it could mean is the university's expert. francois hollande is in the lea

her friend was also the person who helped free mr. chenlly driving the vehicle that he was in. thank you for joining us. appreciate your time this morning. you've heard this back and forth that is clearly, at times, contra addictry between what mr. chen is saying and what we're hearing from the diplomats, the american diplomats in this case. what do you know about this case? what exactly is happening? >> i actually think that there isn't that much of a contradiction. i believe that chen did want to stay in china when he thought that the united states and the chinese communist party would respect whatever negotiated agreement and protections that he had. now he's out of the protection of the united states in the embassy and now that he is in the hospital he has seen that both the united states and the chinese communist party are f l falling through on their promises of protection and he and his family feel they're in extreme danger. in his hospital, when he was reunited with his wife, he found out that in their home that cadray's came and s

mr. chen, we all wish him well. we all hope for his security. respect his advocacy against forced sterilization and against the one child policy. we hope he is successful in the long term, whether he is in china or elsewhere. but this has still got time to play out. and we must remember, martin, that mr. chesapeake bay was in our embassy, the american embassy. that's where he sought to go. the u.s. embassy in beijing. he knew that is a place where he could seek his safety and try to work out some kind of an agreement. he then volunteered to leave after being asked several times about whether or not he wanted to stay or leave. he said three times, he wanted to leave. but it is not over yet. and i know the president, the national security team, the secretary of state, hillary clinton, i know they'll all be working as gary locke, the ambassador is over there, on a good resolution here stressing the importance of human rights, which is a great value to the united states. >> so, sir, again, a final question. given your expertise in these matters of y

university has offered mr. chen a lot fellowship. >> progress has been made to help him have the future that he wants. we will be staying in touch with him. >> tonight, as hillary clinton wraps up her meeting with the chinese leaders and prepares to leave this country, there is no resolution to the crisis over chen guangcheng. the dilemma goes on. there is an opportunity to end it, but will time to let him go? -- will china let him go? >> this is "bbc news," still ahead -- campaign comes to an end in france. will it be nicolas sarkozy or socialist candidate francois hollande? german doctors call to the ukraine to examine yulia tymoshenko have said that she can remain for treatment. she claims to have been beaten while in prison and is currently in hundred strike at the protest of her conviction. a french court has sentenced a nuclear physicist for his role in plotting terrorism with al qaeda's north african wing. the trial convicted him of criminal association with a view to plotted terrorist attacks. 100 pelicans h

mr. chen mr. chen about the years he spent in a chinese prison. he spent about four years and three months in a chinese prison. and also about the nearly two years that he was in home detention. here's what he said. when you were released, you were under house arrest. what was that like? >> translator: let me correct one thing here. when we talk about my situation in the future, let's not use the word house arrest, but instead, let's use the term illegal detention. it's hard for me to describe what it was like during the time, but let's just say my suffering was beyond imagination. >> did you feel like there was an end to it? did it feel like it was just going to go on and on? >> translator: i didn't see much hope. >> mr. chen originally was arrested in china back in 2006 after filing a class-action lawsuit. he and his wife are basically self-taught attorneys. his wife, because mr. chen is blind, his wife read to him from legal textbooks and he kind of learned the law and filed this lawsuit on

. >> mr. chen, thank you. >> i have-- >> translator: i have a final word i want to emphasize that what have happened to my family members are just a total violation of china's own law, including china's relevant law about the family planning system. so what they have done is total in violation of the chinese own law so this should be held accountable by the chinese own law. this is what i want to emphasize. >> thank you, mr. chen. >> i think we're close to concluding this hearing. i want to thank our very distinguished witnesses and ask them if perhaps they might have some final comments they would like to make. i do and i say this with all due respect to the president of the united states, i am concerned when the united states government, when president obama was a asked about chen guangcheng specifically on human rights he said no comments on chen and that human rights he said "it comes up." my hope is we're are in a change of our appraisal of human rights in china and perhaps elsewhere in the wo

. >> all of our efforts with mr. chenve been guided by his choices and our values. >> a fresh faced kid who can relate to the youthful now he is old grandpa gray hair. >> there is a wild and crazy man inside here. >> static electricity. but still electricity. >> let's get right to our panel. political commentator abby huntsman joins us, along with jonathan capehart and politico's ken vogel. good afternoon to everyone. abby, let's start with you. you were a resident in the ambassador's residence in china. what do you think has happened with regard to the dissident this week? >> let me say watching the top line. you're going to miss the circus so don't get too excited about this. >> i am. we love it. >> i did live in beijing this past year and it is inconceivable that they would have let mr. chen go. i can't figure it out i imagine that hillary and geithner probably put a lot of pressure on ambassador locke and the embassy to make a quick fix as the strategic and economic dialogue was about to go on. but this really was a q

mr. chen's state? we caught up with the u.s. officials who brokered the deal for chen to leave the embassy. they're under pressure. they have delivered chen to chinese hands and may not be able to undo that deed. >> a real diplomatic mess. the fallout from this incident is one of the reasons why "time magazine's" cover story this week reads, "the people's republic of scandal." a short time ago the magazine's editor joined us from new york. this whole episode seems increasingly messy. how does it reflect on america's relations with china? >> well, i think it's shaping up to be a diplomatic debacle of catastrophic proportions. yes, the united states administration and the diplomatic core may have preserved the relationship with china, but at what price? i think for people who are concerned about human rights, people are concerned about the united states reputation as a beacon to preserve human rights this is looking like a pretty amateurish move. it's quite troubling, actually. >> what your cover story suggests is this has implicat

cehn a fellowship. -- mr. chen a fellowship. >> progress has been made to get in the future that he wants. we will be in touch with them. >> for now, hillary clinton wraps up a meeting with chinese leaders and prepares to leave. there is no resolution in the crisis over chen guangcheng. there is an office in a tutu and it, but will china let him go? -- there is an opportunity to end it, , but will china let him go? >> nicolas sarkozy and his hollande,ncois are heating up. we have a report on what could be a photo finish. >> both of these candidates have been on the campaign trail now for months. we are here at the end of the road. it is decision time for the french voters. it has been kind of a bruising and angry campaign. today was busy. both candidates bouncing around the country in an attempt to encourage the undecided voters to go their way. at the end of the day, it comes down to 40 million people in this country who must decide which policies they believe and which of these two men they want to lead them thro

mr. chen's desire to leave china? including expressing a desire to leave on hillary cnton's plane. >> well, pretty much over the last 24 hours he has been in touch with friends and foreign media intermittently turning a cell phone on that was given to him and he's said repeatedly he wants to leave. he feels very cut off in the hospital and he feels his family's life is in danger. now, it seems to have taken the state department quite some time to get that message but this evening they said they, indeed, had confird hidesireo leave and they were seeking additional information from him as to how to go forward. >> what is his status? he's not simply a patient in a hospital, presumably. is he a prisoner? is that clear at all? >> it's not terribly clear. he's not confined to the hospital. he seems to be unable to leave. the state department said that officials had spoken with him by phone twice today. his wife and two children who joined him upon his release in the hospital yesterday, his wife habeen able come out d meet w