In a dramatic appeal, the Chinese dissident at the center of an international firestorm addressed a Capitol Hill committee over an iPhone Thursday and -- according to the translator -- asked for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's help ushering him out of China and into the United States.
Chen Guangcheng called into an emergency hearing held Thursday afternoon in Washington. The call came hours into the hearing, but Chen spoke for several minutes as a rights activist held up the phone to the microphone and translated from Mandarin to English.
Chen said he wanted to meet with Clinton and that he wanted to come to the U.S. for some "rest." He said he hoped Clinton could "help" him, and that he also wanted to thank her, as he detailed his concerns about his family's safety.
"I'm really afraid (for) my other family members' life," he said, according to Bob Fu, president of the rights group ChinaAid, who translated Chen's de facto testimony. "The thing I'm most concerned (about) right now is the safety of my mother, my brothers, and I really want to know what's going on with them."
