In October and November 2011, an online campaign gathered pace in China around the case of blind lawyer and human rights activist Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚), who has been kept under house arrest at his home in Linyi, Shandong province, since his release from prison in late 2010. Chinese internet users and activists who attempted to visit Chen Guangcheng in response to online calls for action were harassed by local police and thugs. In late October, US Representative Chris Smith, chairman of the Congressional Executive Commission on China, said a congressional trip to Linyi to visit Chen was being planned. The AFP quoted Smith as saying that US lawmakers “desperately hope” Chen is still alive. Smith was subsequently denied a visa to visit China. In this cartoon, posted by artist Kuang Biao (邝飚) to his blog at QQ.com, chains of oppression dripping with blood knot around a pair of dark sunglasses, symbolic of the blind lawyer Chen Guangcheng. The cartoon was drawn for the occasion of Chen Guangcheng’s 40th birthday on November 12.