Fang and his wife had taken refuge in the US embassy in Beijing, and they were stuck there for a year. There was constant speculation about how the US was going to get them out of there safely, and one reporter even claimed that Lilley was going to have a Halloween party at which everyone would wear a Fang Lizhi mask so that Fang himself would have a chance to escape in the confusion.
方勵之夫婦前後在美國駐北京大使館中停留了一年，李潔明描述外界對美國引渡方勵之方法的猜測，新聞界有話傳出：李潔明將在萬聖節舉辦化裝舞會，與會者人人戴上方勵之的面具，讓方勵之趁機溜之大吉！