The Chinese Dissident

One of China's best-known dissidents, Chen Guangcheng, has escaped from house arrest and has released a video addressed to Premier Wen Jiabao. In it he makes three demands, including one that Mr Wen investigate what Mr Chen, who is blind, calls the brutal beating up of his family members.

Rights activists say Mr Chen was smuggled out of his home in Dongshigu town in Shandong province on Sunday. His whereabouts are unclear, but supporters say he is safe in Beijing. Mr Chen, 40, had been under house arrest since he was released from a four-year jail sentence in 2010.

In the video, delivered from a darkened room, he said outwitting the guards keeping him under illegal house arrest had not been easy.

In the appeal, posted online by Boxun, a Chinese dissident news website based in the United States, he asks that:

1.         Premier Wen investigate and prosecute local officials Mr Chen says beat up his family members 
2.         The safety of his family be ensured 
3.         Corruption in general in China be dealt with and punished according to the law