Chen Guangcheng lost his sight when he was child. This may have been a good thing because Chen could not see (pun intended) what he was up against when he began to fight for women in Shandong province who faced forced abortions and sterilizations because they were deemed ineligible to bear another child.

Chen confronted local officials by filing a lawsuit and in the end became a hero in Shandong.

After that he was arrested by Shandong officials and placed under house arrestt - then routinely roughed up by local thugs until he was last seen in March.

continue reading...