Throughout Thursday, U.S. officials insisted Mr. Chen had had a "change of heart" and diplomatic officials scrambled to ascertain what he really wanted, meeting with him and his wife at a Beijing hospital where he is undergoing treatment for injuries sustained during a risky escapefrom his home detention.
Even if those immigrants are eventually given asylum, they may have waited in detention for months or years, separated from their families just for attempting to escape strife in their country of origin.