Did the US Government handle the Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng case well?

A political activist under house arrest by the Chinese government makes a daring escape to the US Embassy.  Publicly the Obama administration praises his bravery.  Privately did they really pressure him to leave the US Embassy?  CNN has this transcript of their interview with Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng:

Q: What prompted your change of heart [about leaving the US Embassy]?
A: The embassy kept lobbying me to leave and promised to have people stay with me in the hospital. But this afternoon as soon as I checked into the hospital room, I noticed they were all gone.
Q: Has the U.S. disappointed you?
A: I'm very disappointed at the U.S. government.
Q: Why?
A: I don't think (U.S. officials) protected human rights in this case.
Q: What would you say to U.S. President Obama?
A: I would like to say to (President Obama): Please do everything you can to get our whole family out.
Q: Is this your most urgent wish?
A: That's right.
Q: What has your wife told you after you escaped?
A: (My wife) was tied to a chair by police for two days. Then they carried sticks to our home, threatening to beat her to death. Now they have moved into the house -- eating at our table and using our stuff. Our home is teeming with security -- on the roof and in the yard. They have installed seven surveillance cameras inside the house and built electric fences around the yard.
Q: What did officials tell her if you didn't leave the embassy?
A: They said they would send her back (to Shandong) and people there would beat her. . . .

It doesn't seem as if the Obama administration followed the expectations of others for this case.  From the UK Guardian:

Jean-Pierre Cabestan of Hong Kong University said if Chen was at the embassy, the two governments would probably try to downplay the issue, at least until the end of this week's talks.
"Then the Obama administration will try to find a solution that may not be asylum, but an assurance from Beijing that they will stop harrassing Chen; but if that does not work, asylum will eventually be granted," he said.
Nicholas Bequelin, of Human Rights Watch, said it was unlikely that the Chinese government would accept Chen's demands for an investigation into his case. In the interim, Washington should offer to take Chen and his family to the US for "medical reasons". "If Beijing is not ready for that either, they should be ready to shelter Chen for a longer time, until a solution is negotiated," Bequelin said. . . .

Apparently, Chen was willing "to spend may years" in the US Embassy.  Did the Obama administration put a lot of pressure on Chen to get him to change his mind?


Boy, if the story below is correct, there is more evidence that turning away defectors is part of US policy.

The office of Vice President Joe Biden overruled State and Justice Department officials in denying the political asylum request of a senior Chinese communist official last February over fears the high-level defection would upset the U.S. visit of China’s vice president, according to U.S. officials.
The defector, Wang Lijun, was turned away after 30 hours inside the U.S. Consulate Chengdu and given over to China’s Ministry of State Security, the political police and intelligence service.
Wang has not been seen since Feb. 7 and remains under investigation. His attempt to flee China set off a major power struggle within the ruling Communist Party and led to the ouster of leftist Politburo member Bo Xilai and the arrest of his wife on murder charges. . . .

Here is a discussion from the WSJ that indicates that the US felt pressure to make a deal quickly.  At least the US got a deal over cleaner burning cook stoves.