Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng told CNN in his first in-depth TV interview since his dramatic escape from house arrest, about his departure from China and his continuing concern for family and friends he left behind.
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He also spoke about tasting freedom recently.
Chen Guangcheng spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper about his daring escape from house arrest, and concern for his family and friends who are still in China, in an interview on the "Anderson Cooper 360°" program Thursday.
Chen told CNN: "I haven't been able to feel (nature) for a long time."
Chen who is blind, said: "I had some time to soak in the sun and feel the breeze. I just felt I hadn't been able to do that in so long. I have missed out for too long. "
Asked about speaking out against China, he said, "It was natural for me, it was very natural for me. I feel it's in people's nature to want to stop evil and embrace the good."
His experience being under house arrest in China, he said, brought much suffering.
"I want to correct one thing here," Chen said. In the future, he continued, "let's not use the word 'house arrest' but instead let's use the term 'illegal detention.' It's hard for me to describe what it was like during that time. But let's just say that my suffering was beyond imagination."
Chen made his comments Thursday morning in an exclusive with CNN's Anderson Cooper, airing in Primetime Thursday night.
Chen's arrival in the United States on Saturday brought an end to a diplomatic firestorm between Beijing and Washington that erupted after he escaped from house arrest in the Shandong province, according to an online article at CNN's webpage.
SOURCE: ASSIST News Service
Michael Ireland
