Renowned blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng boarded a flight on Saturday with his family, bound for Newark, New Jersey. Chen will be attending law school at New York University on a fellowship.  Chen remains concerned about his extended family left behind, however.

In an open petition published this week, 16 retired officials called for the resignation of Zhou Yongkang, head of the Political and Legislative Committee which runs the national security and legal machinery of China.  Zhou’s Committee is behind a largely detested Maoist revival, as well as wasting millions on repressive public security initiatives, both of which were listed in the petition.

From the Dalai Lama, to Rebiya Kadeer and the other Uighur leaders, and to the entire government of Taiwan, China remains opposed to other nations having anything to do with its exiles.  The unrealistic expectation is a growing source of tension between China and other nations.

The spring of 1989 saw the largest pro-democracy demonstration in the history of China's communist regime. The following timeline tracks how the protests began in April among university students in Beijing, spread across the nation, and ended on June 4 with a final deadly assault by an estimated force of 300,000 soldiers from People's Liberation Army (PLA). Throughout these weeks, China's top leaders were deeply divided over how to handle the unrest, with one faction advocating peaceful negotiation and another demanding a crackdown. Excerpts from their statements, drawn from The Tiananmen Papers, reveal these internal divisions.

Twenty-two years have passed since hundreds of thousands of people flooded onto the streets of Beijing and into Tiananmen Square demanding democracy, freedom of speech and an end to corruption. After a seven week standoff, the Communist government called in the troops and a bloody battle pursued. Twenty years on, Al Jazeera speaks to some of those who took part in the world's largest and most influential pro-democracy movement.

Tiananmen Massacre: The Rise & Fall of the 1989 Chinese Student Democracy Movement. China's Communist government declares war against its own citizens. Also, the fate of the Tank Man is detailed.

The organization, The World Uighur Conference, is holding a conference in Tokyo this week.  China considers the group a terrorist organization, but its leader, exiled dissident Rebiya Kadeer, called for China to respect human rights as they continue their peaceful struggle.

The dissident, who uses the singular name Hada, was put under house arrest over a year ago but his whereabouts had been unknown since that time up to now.  He was originally arrested back in 1996 and served 15 years in prison on the charge of separatism, then was “released” in to house arrest in December of 2010.

According to the spiritual leader of Tibet, last year he was informed that China had trained female agents to assassinate him.  The women were to put poison in their hair and clothing and ask for a blessing from him.  

In Communist China, there is no word more sacred or richer in righteous indignation and moral force than "revolution." In the name of revolution, one-party despotism and individual autocracy have been carried out. Again and again, in the name of "revolution, inhumane political movements have been launched. In the name of revolution, individuals have been stripped of all the rights that they ought to enjoy.

THE GATE OF HEAVENLY PEACE is a documentary about the protests at Tiananmen in 1989, and the resulting Beijing Massacre of June 4. The film explores the history of the demonstrations and comments on the "deep structure" of political habits and attitudes that have informed public life in China over the past century. The filmmakers present a wide range of Chinese perspectives on a defining moment in China's modern history.

1. Going Back to China: Liu Xiaobo describes seeing the protests in Tiananmen on US television.

In the spring of 1989, Chinese students and workers occupied Tiananmen Square in Beijing and began the largest nonviolent political protest in China's history. At the height of the movement, over one million people marched in the streets of Beijing. The movement ended with the government's crackdown and the Beijing massacre of June 4.

Qatar-based Al-Jazeera’s only English-language journalist was expelled this week.  The reporter, Melissa Chan, is thought to have irked Beijing due to her coverage of sensitive issues like illegal land forfeitures and activist jailings without due process.

In the immediate aftermath of Chen Guangcheng's escape, the internet was abuzz with excitement over the activist outwitting the authorities ultimately under the head of internal security, Zhou Yongkang.  However, after seeing Chen's fate hang in the balance after leaving the US Embassy in Beijing, many Chinese would like to see the US take a greater role in oversight of Chen and other activists in China.

Within days after a group of Chen Guangcheng's friends and supporters met in Beijing to discuss his situation, the central government started detaining human rights supporters.  Many were "disappeared" for months at a time, and one, Jiang Tianyong, was beaten so badly he lost hearing in one ear.

In a surprising turn of events, Chen Guangcheng has been granted the opportunity to move his family to the US as a student.  However, Chen would have to return to his home village to secure a passport, a place where he was detained and beaten for over 18 months.

Shortly after leaving the US Embassy Chen started rethinking his decision to remain in China.  He and his wife now say that they fear for their lives and no longer feel safe living in their native country.

The blind activist who escaped house arrest and fled to the US Embassy in Beijing has been allowed to leave peacefully for hospital treatment, pursue higher learning, and be reunited with his family.  The Chinese Foreign Ministry made gestures of being outraged by US interference, and for now Washington says it will closely monitor how Chen is treated.

The brief release voices the US governments pleasure over Chen leaving the US Embassy on his terms and being reunited with his family.  It goes on to say that Chen will be able to pursue his education in a safe environment.

The recent escape of Chen Guangcheng, renowned for his legal defense of women forced into abortion and sterilization by Chinese authorities, has brought attention back on to the plight he fought so hard for.  There are around 13 million abortions performed annually in China, and often female fetuses are the target due to the preference in traditional Chinese culture for male heirs.

The list reveals the great degree to which Beijing is striving to censor the internet within its borders, as well as how creative the Chinese people can be at eluding such attempts.

The group must be dealt with by any foreign film makers wanting to produce movies in China.  Recently the US Securities and Exchange Commission has gotten involved after a whistle-blower informed them that American film companies had paid off officials in China.

Following Chen’s daring escape and subsequent taunting of the Chinese government, Beijing has tightened its grip on dissenting voices.  Three activists are being held by police and authorities are also blocking certain Chen-related terms on microblogging services.

Today the White House sent a top diplomat to Beijing for dialogue regarding escaped activist Chen Guangcheng.  Chinese leadership was to meet today to discuss their game plan for the imminent arrival of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.