The Chinese government has released a blind human rights activist, Chen Guangcheng,
who has been in jail for over 4 years.
He had been reporting the use of forced
abortions and sterilizations by local officials, and his reports led to public demonstrations,
drawing the ire of the authorities.
The Director of International Coordination
for Human Life International, Joseph Meaney, said he did important work.
“He
was advocating for the rights of these peasant women who were being rounded and essentially
exploited in favour of [China’s] one child policy,” he told Vatican Radio.
Chen
told supporters he has not changed, and thanked everyone who worried about him.