The New York Times is reporting that blind Chinese lawyer Chen GuangCheng is presently on a flight to the US.
Mr. Chen left Beijing on a United Airlines flight bound for Newark with his wife and two children at around 5:30 p.m. after facing earlier delays.
Earlier Saturday Mr. Chen told friends over a cellphone that he was excited to be leaving China but that he was also worried about the fate of relatives he leaves behind. “He’s happy to finally have a rest after seven years of suffering but he’s also worried they will suffer some retribution,” said Bob Fu, president of ChinaAid, a Christian advocacy group based in Texas.
Once again, in a quiet, undramatic way, the Obama administration has gotten the job done.
No thanks to Mitt Romney, who ham-handedly inserted himself into the situation early this month with comments like
“Just in the last day or two, we’ve heard some disturbing things from across the world that suggest that, potentially – if the reports are true – some very troubling developments there,” Mr. Romney told a crowd of supporters. “If the reports are true, this is a dark day from freedom, and it’s a day of shame of the Obama administration.”
He showed that once again he knew nothing about what he was talking about, but decided to opine in any case as part of his usual MO of shameless political hackery. Expect to shortly hear the Romney camp and their apologists attempt to twist this news to their benefit.