Ah, memories. Chen Guangcheng’s daring escape from house arrest in Shandong province to U.S. protection in Beijing is by no means the first instance of a dissident crashing a foreign diplomatic outpost for protection. In fact, it’s been happening in China, and elsewhere, for over one hundred years. In 1898, two reformists pursued by the Qing dynasty, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao, sought protection by the U.K. and Japan, respectively. And let’s not forget Li Dajian, Shen Yuan, Fang Lizhi, and the eponymous Wang Lijun.
Getting confused? Not to worry, online magazine iSun Affairs has come to the rescue with a helpful “Guide to Breaking Into an Embassy.” It provides a rich timeline of dissident-on-embassy bum-rushes throughout the last century, not to mention a helpful precis of how to fulfill the definition of a “refugee.” Tea Leaf Nation translates the graphic below, our only omission being iSun Affair’s final graphic showing the addresses and contact information of U.S. consulates throughout China. We trust our readers to be able to find such information themselves in the age of Google and Baidu.
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