American chop suey.

A fantastic story has been unfolding in China in the last week. Chen Guangcheng, a 40 year old blind lawyer in Donshigu village in Shandong province of China, escaped from his house arrest. He had filed a class action lawsuit against Linyi city for forcible abortion on thousands of women as part of the one-child policy. He was in prison from 2006-10 and was under house arrest since then. He escaped Communist Party thugs guarding his house, injuring his foot in the process, was driven to Beijing about 100km away and sought asylum in the US Embassy in Beijing last week. This precipitated a crisis between the US, which was stuck with its posture on human rights, and China, which saw it as interference in its domestic matters. While in the US Embassy Mr Chen was adamant that he wanted to remain in China. An understanding was reached and 3 days back the American ambassador accompanied Mr Chen to a local hospital for treatment of his foot injury. Next day he was not to be found at the hospital but contacted news agencies saying that he had changed his mind because of fears about the safety of his family and now wanted to go the west. Very diplomatically he did not mention the word " asylum " but said that he wanted to " rest ". Yesterday he phoned the US Congress and talked directly to US lawmakers expressing his desire to emigrate to the US. So, how did a blind man escape from his guards, was driven 100km to Beijing and able to enter the US Embassy, which must be the one of the most heavily guarded buildings in Beijing? It could not have been the US Navy Seals Team 6 which took out Bin Laden in Abbottabad. After all China is not Pakistan. Communist Party Chief of Chingqing, Bo Xi Lai has been sacked from all his posts and is under house arrest while his wife, Gu Kai Lai, is in police custody charged with the murder of British businessman, Neil Heywood in Chingqing last year. So, could this incident have been arranged by Maoist hardliners in the party angered by the fall of Bo Xi Lai? In which case, how was Mr Chen able to phone US Congress yesterday while in Chinese custody? Who provided him with a phone and, so helpfully, found him the number of the Congress in Washington? So could this whole charade have been arranged by the Chinese government just before Hilary Clinton's visit to get rid of an irritant? One can almost hear Mr Wen Jiao Bao advising Mr Chen," Go to Amelica, steal big seclets and make Middle Kingdom number 1 top power. Maybe we give you big honor. Maybe we name blind panda after you. Ah so." Have the Chinese put one over the Americans? Love conspiracies.