U.s. Embassy, Chen Guangcheng | featured news

The Chinese activist who left the refuge of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said Thursday that he regrets the move and pleads for Hillary Clinton's help to get into the United States.

Is it legal to give sanctuary to a dissident? Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng has left the US embassy in Beijing after taking refuge there for a week. Chinese officials have accused the US of breaking the law and demanded an apology. Why?

Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese lawyer who fled his captors last week and sought U.S. protection, has been moved to a hospital in Beijing. The drama unfolded on the eve of Thursday?s start of two-day talks between senior Chinese and U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.

The U.S. and Chinese governments maintained their official silence Saturday on the whereabouts of the blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng, but local and overseas activists said the two sides were locked in a delicate diplomatic negotiation over the fate of the dissident who fled from house arrest last Sunday and is thought to be in Beijing under U.S. protection.