 Legally, he was proclaimed by the government to be a free man, but in reality the local government offered no explanation for the hundreds of unidentified agents monitoring his house and preventing visitors or escape.The national propaganda organ, the "Global Times", expressed confusion over the issue, and suggested that the local government may not know how to handle it, but no disciplinary action was taken at the national level.He and his wife attempted to communicate with the outside world via video tape and letters.