the chinese activist at the center of the firestorm interrupted a hearing, cried out for help. chen guangcheng the blind chinese dissident who sought refuge in the american embassy in beijing called into the emergency hearing about his case and pleaded through a translator you can see the call happening, asking specifically to speak with secretary of state hillary clinton. translator: i really fear for my other family member s life and we have installed radio cameras and even with electric fence. now, all of this comes after a whirl wind day of developments that forced the u.s. to explain why chen said he wanted to leave. he said he needs to leave for his safety. and that put ambassador gary locke on the defensive. this was his decision and he indicated of what he wanted. he had the option of staying in the embassy for years if necessary. congressman chris smith spoke to chen today. he was overseeing that committee hearing on human rights. he is outfront tonight.
well, good evening. i m erin burnett. we have breaking news tonight. extraordinary scene on capitol hill today. the chinese activist at the center of the firestorm interrupted a hearing, cried out for help. chen guangcheng the blind chinese dissident who sought refuge in the american embassy in beijing called into the emergency hearing about his case and pleaded through a translator you can see the call happening, asking specifically to speak with secretary of state hillary clinton. translator: i really fear for my other family member s life and we have installed radio cameras and even with electric fence. now, all of this comes after a whirl wind day of developments that forced the u.s. to explain why chen said he wanted to leave. he said he needs to leave for his safety. and that put ambassador gary locke on the defensive. this was his decision and he indicated of what he wanted. he had the option of staying in the embassy for years if necessary. congressman chris
an extraordinary scene on capitol hill today. the chinese activist at the center of the firestorm between the united states and china interrupted a hearing, cried out for help. chen guangcheng, the blind dissident who sought refuge in the american embassy in beijing called into an emergency hearing about his case and pleaded through a translator as you can see the call happening, asking specifically to speak with secretary of state hillary clinton. [ speaking foreign language ] i really fear for my other family members lives. we have installed seven video cameras and even with the electric fence. now, all of this comes after a whirlwind day of developments that forced the united states to explain why chen accused this country of pressuring him to leave the embassy. after initially saying he wanted to stay in china, he now says he needs to leave the country for his safety. that put u.s. ambassador to beijing, gary locke, on the defensive. this was his decision and he in