In 2005 Chen gained international recognition for organising a landmark class-action lawsuit against authorities in Linyi, Shandong province, for the excessive enforcement of the one-child policy.

After negotiations with the Chinese government, he left the embassy for medical treatment in early May 2012, and it was reported that China would consider allowing him to travel to the United States to study.

[2] Chen is the youngest of five brothers of a peasant family from the village of Dongshigu, Yinan County, Linyi, southern Shandong Province, approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) from the city of Jinan.

[4][5] In an interview for the New York Review of Books, Chen said that although his family did not identify with an organized religion, his upbringing was informed by a "traditional belief in virtue that's present in Chinese culture—that might have some Buddhist content, but not necessarily that one believes in Buddhism."

While studying in Nanjing the following year, however, Chen learned that the program was illegal, and he petitioned central authorities in Beijing to end the system, thereby irritating local officials.

In November 2004, Chen acted on behalf of villagers to file a lawsuit in the Qi'nan County Court against the local Public Security Bureau for negligence.

One of the women he interviewed in Maxiagou village, 36-year-old Feng Zhongxia, said that local officials detained and beat her relatives, and indicated they would not be released until she turned herself in and submitted to a forced abortion.

[9] Although there had been prior instances of Chinese citizens filing complaints about abuses under the one-child policy, Chen's initiative was the first class-action lawsuit to challenge its implementation.

Responding to questions about Chen's allegation, a senior official with the National Population and Family Planning Commission told The Washington Post that the practice of forced abortions and sterilizations was "definitely illegal", and indicated that the complaints were being investigated.

[19] After Chen refused negotiations with local officials to cease his activism, Linyi authorities placed him under effective house arrest beginning in September 2005.

[20] Time reported that witnesses to Chen's protest disputed the government's version of events,[21] and his lawyers argued that it was unlikely he could have committed the crimes due to his constant surveillance by police.

[23] According to Radio Free Asia and Chinese Human Rights Defenders, the prosecution delayed the trial because a crowd of Chen supporters gathered outside the courthouse.

[27][28] A columnist for The Globe and Mail also criticized the verdict, writing that "Even assuming [Chen] did damage 'doors and windows,' as well as cars, and interrupt traffic for three hours, it is difficult to argue a four-year prison sentence is somehow proportionate to the offence.

Letters described beatings Chen and his wife were subjected to, seizure of documents and communication devices, cutting off of electric power to their residence, and placing of metal sheets over the windows of their house.

[39] In December 2011 actor Christian Bale attempted to visit Chen along with a CNN crew, but was punched, shoved, and denied access by Chinese security guards.

[45] In the weeks leading up to his escape, Chen gave his guards the impression that he was ill in bed, and stopped appearing outside the house, which allowed him several days before any absence would be discovered.

[43] BBC News described Chen's escape as coming at "an unwelcome time for China's leaders", who were still dealing with a high-profile corruption scandal that resulted in the removal of politburo member Bo Xilai.

[45] Within twenty-four hours, Chen's name as well as the phrases "CGC" and "the blind man" had been blocked by Chinese online censors in an effort to quell Internet discussion of the case.

[47] Kurt M. Campbell, an assistant secretary of state, quietly arrived in Beijing on April 29 for negotiations with representatives of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[56] According to embassy representatives, the agreement brokered with Chinese authorities provided that Chen would be freed from soft detention, relocated, and be permitted to finish his legal education at one of several law schools in China.

[57] During the initial negotiations in the U.S. embassy, Chen did not request asylum in the United States or considered leaving China, but instead demanded to remain there as a free man.

[70] Before leaving China in the spring of 2012, Chen expressed concern that his relatives and other activists who had helped him evade capture would be punished by Chinese officials after his departure.

[75] Following his arrival in the U.S., Chen, his wife, and the couple's two children settled in a housing complex for students and faculty of New York University, located in Greenwich Village.

"[77] In an April 2013 testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Chen said that Chinese authorities had failed to deliver on promises to investigate allegations of mistreatment against him and his family.

[80] Chen's close association with conservative Christian and anti-abortion figures since coming to the United States, including representative Chris Smith, pastor Bob Fu, and media consultant Mark Corallo, has concerned old supporters like Cohen.

In March 2002, Newsweek magazine ran a cover story on Chen and the "barefoot lawyer" movement in China, detailing his advocacy on behalf of villagers and disabled people.

The citation stated, "He may have lost his sight as a child, but Chen Guangcheng's legal vision has helped illuminate the plight of thousands of Chinese villagers.

[92] The award, often called the "Asian Nobel Prize", was bestowed for "his irrepressible passion for justice in leading ordinary Chinese citizens to assert their legitimate rights under the law".

[93] According to AIDS activist Hu Jia, Chen's wife Yuan Weijing attempted to attend the Magsaysay Award ceremony on her husband's behalf, her passport was revoked and her mobile phone was confiscated by Chinese authorities at Beijing Capital International Airport.

In explaining the choice, the organization's president Elisa Massimino stated, "Mr. Chen's activism has reignited an international conversation about the need to protect human rights lawyers around the world who face great danger for their courageous work.