By HEATHER HADDON
In his journey from house arrest in Beijing to a televised appearance in New York on Thursday, Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng had an unusual allyâ€"a devoutly Christian House Republican from central New Jersey.
Rep. Chris Smith, a 16-term incumbent considered one of Congress's most conservative members, has developed an international reputation as a defender of human rights, particularly in China, a country he has visited several times.
Rep. Chris Smith with activist Chen Guangcheng in New York earlier this month.
Mr. Chen specifically asked for the congressman's help in April after escaping house arrest and finding refuge in the U.S. Embassy. Last Friday, the two men had a 90-minute private chat on the New York University campus where the blind activist is now studying law and living in faculty housing with his wife and children.
"He's looking forward to getting down to work," Mr. Smith said. "He seemed totally at ease at being here."
Mr. Smith asked the activist to testify before Congress in the coming weeks. In response, Mr. Chen "lit up like a Roman candle," Mr. Smith said. The appearance is still being scheduled.
It would be the latest of dozens of hearings on China that Mr. Smith has held, many through his work as chairman of the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
"He has been known for many years at one of the most outspoken people about human rights in China," said Jerome Cohen, a NYU law professor who is Mr. Chen's mentor and is hosting the dissident's first anticipated public engagement in the U.S. with a wide number of media outlets at the Council on Foreign Relations Thursday.
Mr. Smith is hard to pigeonhole politically.
Democrats accuse the lawmaker of spending too much time on foreign affairs and not enough on more parochial matters in a district that stretches from the Philadelphia suburbs east to the Jersey shore.
"He's appeared to develop a niche for himself in auditioning for the role of Secretary of State," said John Wisniewski, chairman of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.
But liberal-leaning groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said they respect him.
"Many members of Congress speak about human rights issues. I can't think of a great deal of others who put as much time into these issues as Mr. Smith does," said Sophie Richardson, the director of Asia advocacy for Human Rights Watch.
A devout Catholic who said he reads scripture daily, Mr. Smith began taking on human rights causes soon after he took office in 1981. He has since crusaded against child abduction in Japan, sexual violence in the Congo and Internet censorship in Vietnam.
"It comes from my faith," said Mr. Smith, 59 years old, who readily cites Biblical passages underscoring his belief that all people are equal before God. "All of us can find ourselves in a disadvantaged situation."
China has long been one of his chief concerns, especially its one-child policy and practice of forced abortions. Mr. Smith is a leading House critic of abortion and co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus.
In 2008, he delivered a list of thousands of Chinese political prisoners to Chinese government officials during the Beijing Olympics and nominated Mr. Chen and two other Chinese dissidents for the Nobel Peace Prize.
During an emergency hearing of the China commission convened by Mr. Smith in November, lawmakers solely focused on the welfare of Mr. Chen, who served four years in prison and was then kept under house arrest for his legal work defending and educating poor villagers. Mr. Smith wanted to visit Mr. Chen in his village in eastern China, but was denied a visa, he said.
In April, Mr. Chen dramatically escaped from his home and fled to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Fraught negotiations ensued between U.S. and Chinese officials, with Mr. Chen and his family transferred to a hospital. There, he asked for a message to be sent to Mr. Smith: "Help my family and I leave safely."
China let Mr. Chen and his family leave, and they arrived safely in New York on May 19, where Mr. Smith met the activist for the first time.
While the two men share a loathing for China's forced abortions, they don't necessarily have much else in common. Mr. Chen isn't religious and isn't staunchly against all abortions.
The two men got along well when they met Friday. Mr. Chen held Mr. Smith's hand as they chatted about the activist's health and his children, who are starting school. Mr. Chen is taking English classes and is looking forward to advocating from his new home, Mr. Smith said.
Mr. Smith dismisses the criticism of the time he spends on human rights, saying he is one of the House's top sponsors of bills signed into lawâ€"34 in all. "If you want to know me, read my laws," he said.
Mr. Smith believes Mr. Chen can do more work for human rights in New York than in China under house arrest. "He's not just one man," Mr. Smith said. "He's an entire generation of democracy-seeking individuals."
Write to Heather Haddon at heather.haddon@wsj.com
A version of this article appeared May 31, 2012, on page A19 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: From N.J., Lawmaker Aids China Activist.
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