Oslo (AsiaNews / Agencies) - China's democratic transition "is inevitable and has already begun. We cannot wait for democracy, freedom and equality to come from the outside. The idea that civil society's human rights values are not suitable for China is purely a myth that is propagated by the authoritarian regime and its attempt to hold on to power. " So says Chen Guangcheng, a dissident who fought for years against forced abortions and who managed to leave China after a daring escape from his native village.
Speaking
at the Oslo Freedom Forum - annual gathering of activists for human rights -
the blind dissident added: " There is
nothing to fear from a washed-up ruling power that has lost its moral, ethical
and legal foundations." For
Chen, the transition to a true democracy in China "is already in place. More than 200,000 protests are
recorded in China every year, while there is also growing mobilisation of
dissenting voices on the internet."
Known
for his battles against forced abortions and sterilizations in Shandong
Province, Chen Guangcheng has become an emblem of the struggle for human rights
in China. Blind
since birth, he spent four years in prison for denouncing abuses by the
authorities responsible for implementing the one-child law in the country.
Escaped
April 18, 2012, after a daring flight to Beijing, Chen took refuge in the
American Embassy. Following
threats of reprisals against his family, he agreed to leave the embassy and be
hospitalized to treat a foot, injured during the escape. Joined
by his wife and his two sons, he learned from them of the threats they were
subjected to and asked to be able to at least go to the U.S. for some time.
The
solution was found by the Chinese government: Chen - declared a note from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs - may apply to go abroad to study "like all
Chinese citizens." At
present he lives in New York, where he studies Law, but hopes to return soon to
China: "The Communist Party will not remain in power forever, and then I
will be able to travel freely like all other Chinese."