Time Top 100 – Chen Guangcheng
Chen Guangcheng lost his sight when he was child. This may have been a good thing because Chen could not see (pun intended) what he was up against when he began to fight for women in Shandong province who faced forced abortions and sterilizations because they were deemed ineligible to bear another child.
Chen confronted local officials by filing a lawsuit and in the end became a hero in Shandong.
After that he was arrested by Shandong officials and placed under house arrestt – then routinely roughed up by local thugs until he was last seen in March.
Still, he is not forgotten by the people of Shandong, nor should he be forgotten by anybody who believes in standing up for what is right.
The actions of this man are commendable…but, IMHO, hardly worthy of being placed in the top 100 in the world. I digress…but it seems to me that Time is trying to get something rather than give something by nominating him … dare I say readership. I will share other examples in future blogs of Time honorees in Asia.
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