China’s blind activist Chen Guangcheng may have to accept exile

Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangchengwill be sidelined in his quest to defend human rights and press for change in China if he agrees to accept political asylum in the United States, exiled dissidents said.

The combative, self-taught lawyer escaped house arrest in Shandong province last week and travelled to Beijing where he is with U.S. officials, according to his supporters, presumably in the American embassy or at the ambassador’s residence.

Chen has told friends he is determined to stay in China, the supporters say, but he now faces a difficult decision as diplomatic talks continue with Chinese authorities over his future.

Former Tiananmen Square protest leader Chai Ling said Chen may have no alternative but to leave.

“You just have to go because there is no other way, no other choice,” said Chai, 46, a leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests who escaped from China via Hong…