Beijing: The fate of blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng remains undecided after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton left China following bilateral talks.
There are no indications from Beijing about Chen being allowed to leave the country as part of a deal struck with Washington. A western source close to the case told The Sunday Telegraph: "The Americans just don`t know if Chen will be able to leave. It isn’t a done deal".
Chen has already said that he did not want to go into permanent exile, leading him to choose to stay on in China, despite the obvious risks of facing further persecution from the authorities.
The US embassy in Beijing has not yet confirmed if its officials have access to Chen, who has been admitted to a hospital guarded by plain-clothed guards and police since last Wednesday. However, the US embassy spokesman Richard Buangan said: "We are keeping in contact with him by a combination of phone calls and visits".
Even if Chen is allowed to travel to the US to take up a fellowship at New York University, it is unlikely he would be allowed to return to Beijing.
China will see this as an opportunity to get rid of someone who immensely opposed to the government.
ANI