Invisible man dominates US-China talks

This undated photo provided by the China Aid Association shows blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangchen, right, with his son, Chen Kerui, with his wife Yuan Weijing, left, in Shandong province, China. Chen, a well-known dissident who angered authorities in rural China by exposing forced abortions, made a surprise escape from house arrest on April 22, 2012, into what activists say is the protection of U.S. diplomats in Beijing, posing a delicate diplomatic crisis for both governments. (AP Photo/www.ChinaAid.org)

This undated photo provided by the China Aid Association shows blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangchen, right, with his son, Chen Kerui, with his wife Yuan Weijing, left, in Shandong province, China. Chen, a well-known dissident who angered authorities in rural China by exposing forced abortions, made a surprise escape from house arrest on April 22, 2012, into what activists say is the protection of U.S. diplomats in Beijing, posing a delicate diplomatic crisis for both governments. (AP Photo/www.ChinaAid.org)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The blind Chinese lawyer at the center of a diplomatic storm between Washington and Beijing is a mostly taboo topic in each capital. Neither side wants the biggest human-rights issue between the two since Tiananmen Square to disrupt high-level strategic and economic talks set to begin on Thursday.

The two governments have signaled that the global economy, North Korea, Iran and Sudan ? issues in which millions of lives are at stake ? have become far more important in U.S.-Chinese relations. Thus, both refuse to admit anything is amiss as a high-profile dissident, Chen Guangcheng (chen gwahng-chung), is believed to be sheltering with U.S. diplomats in China.

Despite the silence, the handling of his case will have profound ramifications on both sides of the Pacific.

Associated Press

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