by Russ Rooney
A virtuoso is a champion or superstar in a particular field of work. In the performing arts a virtuoso is someone who performs flawlessly a very difficult task. A “perfect” display of talent. Virtuosos have extraordinary talents.
Chen Guangcheng, who has been blind since infancy, did something extraordinary when he filed a lawsuit against his Province to stop forced abortions and sterilizations of women. The Chinese government did not enforce its own laws and did whatever it needed to meet birth quotas. Families who wanted another child without permission from the government were considered “overbirthers” and unjustly punished. Chen did everything he could to stop the tyranny.
Instead of extreme measures to limit childbirth to one child, now the Chinese government encourages families to have up to three children with financial incentives. The dramatic shift can be seen by comparing slogans during the draconian one-child policy compared to the current messaging.
One Child slogan: “Beat it out! Abort it out! Drag it out! Whatever you do, do not give birth!”[1]
Current slogan: ““More children, more happiness.” [2]
A quote from a Chinese Confucian philosopher found in Chen’s book summarizes how he has tried to live his life. “Bring forth all that is good in the world, and expunge all that is bad.”[3] An example of his character is found in how he responded to his lawyers after he was found guilty on false charges. “Never give up. Never give up the yearning to find goodness in us all or the belief in the strength of the rule of law. Never give up the search for truth and the eternal quest for justice.”[4]
After serving four years in prison enduring beatings and horrendous conditions, Chen was placed under house arrest in his poor rural village. Dozens of guards surrounded the area and nearby roads that could be used as an escape route.
With literally his life on the line Chen and Yuan Weijing, his wife, devised one last escape attempt. If caught outside of the village Chen could have suffered a fatal beating which would then be reported as death by an “accident” or “illness.”
Having endured many physical and emotional abuses Chen still hoped that his freedom, under law, as a Chinese citizen would be respected. He still clung to this hope even after a low-level Chinese official told him “We don’t care about the law—we can do whatever we want.”[5]
Initially Chen and Weijing’s daughter, Kesi, was not allowed to go to school. They were told “Our socialist nation won’t permit your counterrevolutionary kid to go to school.”[6] When Kesi was allowed to go to school, her schoolwork was searched for hidden messages for someone outside of the village. She was always in contact with at least two guards. They built a little guardhouse to monitor a six-year-old girl.
Chen did as much as he could to expunge the bad that he had witnessed. However, the government wanted him to be “transformed” so that he would not recognize as bad the abuse he documented and endured.
At one point a special “place” was built for Chen’s family. It was a prison with bars on the windows. Guangchen was told that in this new place he would be transformed faster. When he objected, he was told “It doesn’t matter if you are willing or not—you’re not the ones who will make that decision. You have to move.”[7] News of the prison reached a Hong Kong news outlet, and then the new prison was demolished.
Before Chen embarked on his last escape attempt some of the security cameras had been removed, and he purposely spent a lot of time in bed so when he left it wouldn’t be obvious why he wasn’t observed.
Early on during his escape Chen used his memory of the village to navigate his way out. After leaving his village his ability to echolocate assisted him. Not far from his house he climbed over a wall and landed on a pile of rocks that he did not expect and couldn’t see. It was later confirmed that he had broken his right ankle. He suffered intense pain during his escape that ultimately led him and friends, after a car chase, to the US Embassy.
At the Embassy, he was relieved but then concerned when he was pressured to leave and go to a Chinese government hospital. As much as he wanted to stay in China, he couldn’t trust the government after finding out the same thugs who harassed his family in their village were at the hospital. It appeared that he would be in the same situation as before.
Other human Rights activists, such as Gao Zhisheng, have been in a state-enforced disappearance for several years.[8] This could have been the fate of Chen Guangchen had he stayed in China.
Here in the US, we also have women who are forced to abort. About one in four women describe their abortions as coerced or unwanted and nearly 70% of women describe abortion as inconsistent with their values and preferences.[9] A man in California was charged with murder after forcing his girlfriend to take multiple abortion pills by gunpoint.[10] Women have provided sworn affidavits about their forced abortions.[11]
Truth is maligned when facts are not recognized. Weijing was told by a Chinese official “…I know the Communist Party dares to do anything. This is China. One plus one doesn’t always equal two.”[12] The same is true in some states in the US where a nascent child is wanted, then the child is counted for health insurance coverage. When the child is not wanted, then one plus one no longer equals two.
At great risk to his own life, and those of his family and friends, Chen Guangchen “performed” one of the greatest escapes ever. A virtuoso escape artist, he continues to be a virtuoso for human rights.
[1] The Barefoot Lawyer A Blind Man’s Fight for Justice and Freedom in China, Chen ChenGuangcheng, Henry Holt and Company, 2015 pg. 142
[2] https://asianmorning.com/2025/11/13/chinas-birthrate-crisis-deepens-as-cities-struggle-to-undo-the-legacy-of-one-child-policy
[3] Mencius (372-289 BC), from Universal Love III
[4] Ibid Pg. 207
[5] Ibid Pg. 237
[6] Ibid pg. 241
[7] Ibid pg. 242
[8] https://chinaaid.org/news/seven-years-of-silence-lawyer-gao-zhisheng-on-his-60th-birthday/
[9] https://lozierinstitute.org/hidden-epidemic-nearly-70-of-abortions-are-coerced-unwanted-or-inconsistent-with-womens-preferences/
[10] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7786875/Man-forced-pregnant-girlfriend-numerous-pills-gunpoint-miscarry.html
[11] https://stopcoercedabortions.com
[12] Ibid pg. 248