Obama Aide Mum on Whether US Protecting Activist

A top White House aide on Sunday said President Barack Obama wants to strike an "appropriate balance" between advancing human rights and maintaining U.S. relations with China, the first public comments by the administration on its potential involvement in harboring a Chinese activist on the eve of diplomatic talks between the two world powers.
John Brennan, Obama's counterterrorism adviser, declined to provide details on the incident or say whether the activist, Chen Guangcheng, might be hiding in the U.S. embassy in Beijing as reported.

Chen, who has exposed forced abortions and sterilizations in villages as a result of China's one-child policy, escaped house arrest a week ago in Shandong province in eastern China. Chinese-based activists say he was driven away by supporters and then handed over to others who brought him to Beijing.

More