Chen Guangcheng

Chen Guangcheng is a Chinese civil rights activist who has worked on human rights issues in rural areas of the Peoples Republic of China. Blind from an early age and selftaught in the law, Chen is frequently described as a barefoot lawyer who advocates for womens rights, land rights, and the welfare of the poor. He is best known for accusing people of abuses in official familyplanning practices, often involving claims of violence and forced abortions.

Chen met his wife, Yuan Weijing, in 2001, after listening to a radio talk show. Yuan had called into the show to discuss her difficulties in landing a job after graduating from the foreign language department of Shandongs Chemistry Institute. Chen, who listened to the program, later contacted Yuan and relayed his own story of hardship as a blind man living on just 400 Yuan per year. Yuan was moved by the exchange, and later that year, she traveled to Chens village to meet him. The couple eloped in 2003. Their son, Chen Kerui, was born later that year. In 2005 they had a second childa daughter named Chen Kesiin violation of Chinas onechild policy. Yuan, who had been working as an English teacher at the time of the marriage, left her job in 2003 in order to assist her husband in his legal work.

Source: Wikipedia