Mr GU Chuan and his wife Ms LI Xinai

On 7 July 2012, human rights defender Mr Gu Chuan was finally permitted to leave China with his family in order to take up a position as a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University in New York.

According to reports, Gu Chuan and his wife and two children were escorted to their flight by police and were warned not to give interviews or liaise with Chinese democracy groups after their arrival in America.

Previously, Gu Chuan had been blocked from leaving China as a result of his work as a blogger and freedom of expression activist. On 4 April 2012, he and his family were prevented from boarding a plane bound for America at Beijing Capital International Airport (see Front Line Urgent Appeal dated 6 April 2012, https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/17935). He was then subjected to house arrest in Beijing before being forced to leave the capital for a number of months. During a wide ranging crackdown in 2011, Gu Chuan was disappeared by the Chinese security services for over two months.

You can find additional information on the situation for human rights Defenders in China. HERE