The first time that Sam Popkin, a political scientist at the University of California at San Diego, who, along with his wife, the China scholar Susan Shirk, has known Hu for many years, watched Hu report a story, it reminded him of the portrait of the Times reporter R.

NEWYORKER: The Forbidden Zone

Susan Shirk, who served as a deputy assistant state secretary under Bill Clinton, says that although allowing Mr. Chen to stay in China "would be the best outcome, " she believes the lack of any mechanism that would allow the U.S. to monitor and ensure his safety was highly problematic.

WSJ: Escape Poses New Riddle for U.S., China