For China's dissidents, a long, hopeful struggle-Video

The memories are still raw for 78-year-old Wang Jinxiang. In her own home, guards put her through the daily humiliation of body searches. This is where guards repeatedly beat her youngest son, prominent blind human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng, and his wife. Wang's eyes well with tears when she described how officials refused to let her say goodbye to a different dying son. For more than 18 months, Wang was largely confined to house arrest along with her son. Unlike Chen, she was still allowed to go out to buy groceries from time-to-time, accompanied by several guards. "The guards moved in, eating here, sleeping there -- and two usually sat right outside Guangcheng's bedroom day and night," said Wang, pointing to different areas in her courtyard. Her chronic arthritis worsened during her son's captivity.

"They try to destroy your dignity, your freedom, everything except your life -- and I think the root of such tyranny actually reveals their own insecurity," Hu told CNN in a recent interview, before officials forced him to leave town to ensure a trouble-free 18th Communist Party National Congress where a once-in-a-decade leadership transition will take place at its conclusion.