Published May 09, 2013
BEIJING – An elder brother of Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, who fled house arrest and settled in the U.S., says harassment of the activist’s relatives in China has worsened, possibly because of his plans to visit Taiwan.
The brother, Chen Guangfu, says he was beaten up by two unidentified men Thursday when he visited a relative in Shandong province. Chen also says his family’s yard has been littered with dead poultry and pelted with rocks, and that posters in Chen Guangcheng’s hometown label him and his relatives as traitors.
Taiwanese media say Chen Guangcheng — who’s blind and now lives in New York with his wife and children — plans to visit the island in June. China claims Taiwan as its territory and frowns on visits that might boost its sovereignty claims.
