Some Members suggested that the State Department may have been too trusting of Beijing's initial commitments to ensure Chen's safety in China. With Chen and his immediate family now in the United States, issues of concern for Congress moving forward include the Chinese government's treatment of both Chen's extended family and supporters in China as well as the status of the official investigation that Beijing promised to undertake regarding local government abuses of Chen prior to his escape from Shandong province. A long-term consideration for Congress is what place human rights should occupy in the overall U.S.-China relationship. While the case was still unfolding, critics suggested that the Obama Administration may have judged the many issues to be discussed at the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) to be more important than the fate of a blind legal advocate, and thus rushed to conclude the negotiations over Chen before the opening of the S&ED, risking Chen's safety. Yet Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's unorthodox decision to authorize U.S. diplomats to bring Chen into the U.S. Embassy in the first place sent another signal: that the United States was willing to put those matters at risk for the sake of a human rights issue centered on one person. After one of Chen's associates contacted the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on April 25, 2012, asking for help for Chen, who had broken bones in his foot in his escape from extra-legal house arrest in his home province of Shandong, the U.S. government faced several choices about how to respond. Beijing may have decided that a prolonged face-off with the United States over a provincial legal advocate was not in its interests. If the security apparatus has been weakened, however, it is still possible that it will regain its strength, perhaps even by playing up charges that moderate elements of the leadership compromised China's sovereignty by agreeing to negotiate with the United States over the fate of a citizen in China. For the United States, at least two outstanding issues remain. Chen Guangfu's son, Chen Kegui, faces a charge of attempted murder for injuring security personnel with a cleaver when they stormed his home after Chen Guangcheng's escape. They were:
Reunification with his wife and children, whom he had left behind in Shandong Province when he escaped to Beijing, Relocation to "a safe environment" in China outside of Shandong Province, "An honest investigation, starting at the central government level," of his allegations of mistreatment at the hands of local officials in Shandong Province, An opportunity to study law at a Chinese university, and No official retribution for those who helped him escape. The First Set of Understandings

The Chinese government has not publicly confirmed any of the details of the initial set of understandings reached between the two governments, but as reported by U.S. officials, the first set of understandings, all made verbally, encompassed the following elements: 
Chen's reunification with wife and children, Relocation of Chen and his family to "a safe environment," The opportunity for Chen to study at one of seven universities, of Chen's choosing, with the Chinese government paying for tuition and for the family's room and board, The opportunity for Chen to transfer to another university, either in China or overseas, after two years, A Chinese government commitment to "listen to [Chen's] complaints of abuse and conduct a full investigation," starting as soon as Chen left the Embassy for hospital treatment, and An assurance that Chen had "no remaining legal issues directed at" him and would "be treated like any other student in China." The Subsequent Understanding

Within hours of leaving the U.S. Embassy for Chaoyang Hospital on May 2, 2012, Chen had a change of heart about staying in China. Further Policy Considerations

In the longer term, Congressional considerations related to the Chen Guangcheng case include: how to promote human rights in China in light of recent events surrounding Chen, as well as in light of trends in the bilateral relationship and political and social developments in the PRC; and how or whether to formulate a policy toward China that combines human rights and other bilateral issues, such as economic, security, and environmental matters. After a late-night meeting at the State Department in Washington, Secretary of State Clinton authorizes bringing him into the Embassy. After talking to his wife, friends, and associates, Chen changes his mind about staying in China and requests to travel to the United States. May 4, 2012
Second day of the U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue in Beijing. May 19, 2012
Chen, his wife, and their two children arrive in Newark, NJ, on United Airlines Flight 88 from Beijing. They take up residence at New York University, where Chen plans to study law.
The case of blind Chinese legal advocate Chen Guangcheng, who escaped from illegal house arrest in China's Shandong Province on April 20, 2012, and made his way to Beijing, the United States Embassy, and, ultimately, the United States, has generated strong congressional interest. While Chen was still in China, some Members questioned whether the U.S. State Department had done enough to ensure Chen's safety, with criticism focused on the State Department's decision to escort Chen from the Embassy to a Beijing hospital on May 2, 2012, and its willingness to accept verbal assurances from the Chinese government that it would ensure a "safe environment" for Chen in China. With Chen now in the United States, remaining issues for the Administration and Congress include the fate of the family members, supporters, and friends back in China who helped him escape. The situation of Chen's nephew, Chen Kegui, may be of particular concern. He faces attempted murder charges for injuring security personnel with a kitchen knife when they burst into his father's house late at night after Chen's escape, and he has been denied access to lawyers retained by his family on his behalf. The United States is also watching to see if China follows through on its promise to investigate Chen's treatment at the hands of local officials in Shandong over the past seven years. In the longer term, congressional considerations include how the United States should respond to other human rights cases in China, and what place promotion of human rights should have in the overall U.S.-China relationship.
Chen's saga tested the bilateral relationship and showed it to have a resilience that surprised some observers. When an associate of Chen's contacted the U.S. Embassy in Beijing on April 25, 2012, to request help for him, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reportedly personally authorized a mission to rescue Chen from the streets of Beijing and bring him into the U.S. Embassy compound for assessment by U.S. medical personnel. That move plunged the United States and China into three weeks of high-stakes diplomacy over Chen's fate. With the two countries' premier bilateral dialogue, the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue, scheduled for May 3 and 4, 2012, in Beijing, diplomats for the two sides engaged in tense negotiations. Moving at a rapid pace, they produced a detailed and highly unusual set of understandings under which the Chinese government committed to relocate Chen to a "safe environment" away from his home province and offer him the opportunity to study law at one of seven universities, with the Chinese government paying for Chen's tuition and room and board for him and his family. Chen accepted these verbal understandings—the terms of which China never publicly confirmed—and left the Embassy after six days for a local hospital. Hours later, Chen changed his mind about staying in China, occasioning another round of negotiations. Those negotiations produced a subsequent understanding, under which the Chinese government said publicly that Chen was free to apply for documents to study abroad. Chen, his wife Yuan Weijing, and their two children arrived in the United States on May 19, 2012. Chen plans to study law at New York University.
This report begins by examining implications of the Chen case for the place of human rights in U.S.-China relations. It then discusses why Beijing may have been willing to negotiate with the United States at all over the fate of a Chinese citizen inside China. The report highlights the remaining issues in the case, details the understandings reached between the two governments, and then provides background on Chen Guangcheng and a list of his family and other associates in China who may be at risk. The report includes a map showing Chen's home district and Beijing, the city to which he escaped. It also includes a timeline of developments in the case from April 20, 2012, until May 19, 2012, based upon information available at the time of publication.