U.S. Officials Help Chinese Christian Family Escape to America
A Chinese Christian mother facing government persecution managed to flee her home country with her two daughters, thanks to the help of some American contacts and the U.S. government. Their thrilling escape was akin to that of a suspense movie that involved high-level diplomatic wrangling, political drama and border jurisdiction.
It began when the Chinese government arrested Xie Yang on July 9, 2015 as part of a nationwide crackdown on human rights lawyers. Unable to extract a confession from him despite applying torture, the state turned to his wife, Chen, a professor of environmental engineering at Hunan University.
The government threatened she will lose her job at the university and her children wouldn't be admitted in school if she didn't cooperate. The harassment came to a point where her child, Xie Yajuan, 14, was detained after trying to board a train to Hong Kong, Associated Press reported.
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In desperation, Chen contacted Christian rights activist Bob Fu in Texas to help arrange for their departure to the U.S. Without any papers, Chen took her children for a long and arduous road trip to Thailand. They arrived several weeks later and were slated to fly off to America.
But the Chinese authorities got wind of the family's escape and sent immigration officials to arrest them. While being detained in Bangkok, Chen pleaded to God: "Don't desert us now, not like this." While she was praying, U.S. Embassy personnel were negotiating with Thai officials for her release.
The U.S. State Department took the particular interest of the Guiqius' situation considering that youngest daughter Xie Yuchen is an American citizen, having been born four years ago, while Xie Yang was studying in the U.S. The embassy personnel whisked the family through the jail facility's back door and brought them to the airport.
Chen is thankful she was able to fly her children to safety, but her relief is mixed with apprehension with her husband's condition in China. Xie Yang pleaded guilty during his May 8 trial in exchange for a light sentence. The plight of the human rights lawyers drew international indignation, with the European Union, Canada and Australia urging the Chinese government to look into the torture claimed by the detainees.
