Chen Guangcheng

"The Chinese Foreign Ministry has said more than once that I am a free person. Did I do anything wrong by leaving my home? If other people helped me leave ... this is something that should be praised. Why then when I leave do they break into my home to beat people, detain them."

"China will see democracy, I’m one hundred per cent sure – it just needs time. If everyone makes an effort to build a more just and civil society then it will come faster and if everyone stands by and does nothing, then it will come slower but is still inevitable. Whether the authorities wish it to or not, the dawn comes and the day breaks just the same."

"When I spoke out against China's 'one child' policy and other injustices, I was persecuted, beaten, and put under house arrest by the government...In April, 2012, I escaped and was given shelter in the American embassy in Beijing. I am forever grateful to the American people for welcoming me and my family to the United States where we are now free."