A Blind Activist? Yes Indeed

Recently there has been some attention directed towards China, after a blind activist named Chan Guangcheng escaped from his home while under house arrest to expose his abuse under the guards. What makes this feat even more amazing despite the fact that he is blind and that this is China that we're talking about, is that he had to get past 90 guards in order to do so. Jailed for four years for posting information on corruption and manipulation in his community, Chen was under house arrest as parole. Having been thwarted before in attempted to escape and weary from continuous beating from his captors, Chen finally scaled a wall surrounding his compound and sprinted to safety with the help of fellow activists who had kept in communication with Chen. It has also been reported that three of the dissidents that aided Chen in his escape have now disappeared, likely abducted by police. With Chen now rumored to be at the US embassy in Beijing, China has a mess on its hands. With annual talked between the US and China coming up, strain has been put on US-Chinese relations, adding to the humiliation China suffered from the case of Bo Xilai, the center of a cascading scandal that cost him his seat in the Politburo and exposed a level of mistrust among top officials in the one-party state.Will this lead to serious talks over China's reputation of corruption, manipulation, cover-ups and silencing of dissidents? The US will have to take a stance now, and whether that stance be one of accusation, support, or neutrality has yet to be seen.