The rescue of Chen, whose plight has attracted worldwide attention, was apparently timed to coincide with U.S.-China discussions on human rights taking place this week in Beijing and the visit next week by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Some reports have suggested that Chen was seeking political asylum and might have tried to flee to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
At least two people who were involved in the rescue from a village near Linyi in Shandong province have been arrested, and family members who were involved in a brawl with local authorities after Chen's escape have been arrested.
Hu Jia, a veteran activist, reported on Twitter that Chen was at the U.S. Embassy, but activists in the United States said that was not the case.
"The situation is very dangerous," Yang Jianli, a rights activist based in Washington, said in a telephone interview. "We don't know if Chen is in a safe place or has been perhaps arrested by authorities."
Details of the rescue operation have not been disclosed. He escaped Sunday from the house where he'd been held the last 18 months. The following day, according to activists who have spoken to family members, enraged local officials stormed into a family house in the village and a knife fight broke out.
"In the middle of the night, they climbed over the wall, kicked in the door and entered," Chen Kegui, the dissident's nephew, told activists in a recorded telephone call. Shuanghou Township leader Zhang Jian, who was in charge of enforcing the house arrest, was reportedly injured in the melee.
Chen Guangcheng, a 41-year-old lawyer blind since childhood, spent four years in prison after exposing forced sterilizations and other abuses by Chinese family-planning authorities. After his release in September 2010, he and his wife were placed under local house arrest and reportedly beaten.
Supporters worldwide have launched appeals on Chen's behalf, many using photographs of themselves wearing sunglasses in tribute to the sightless dissident. In December, actor Christian Bale tried to visit Chen's village but was roughly pushed away by plainclothes security.
"There are many dissidents in China who are facing the same scenario of house arrest, but Chen has received the most attention, and we hope if we resolve his case we can move forward on others," Yang said in the telephone interview.
Yang also said that He Peihong, a supporter who had led the campaign for Chen's release, had been taken into custody at her home in Nanjing on Friday morning.
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