Blind Chinese activist Chen says is at Beijing airport
In this file photo taken Wednesday, May 2, 2012. and released by the U.S. Embassy Beijing Press Office, blind activist Chen Guangcheng, center, holds hands with U.S. Ambassador to China, Gary Locke, at a hospital in Beijing.
AP
BEIJING, May 19 (Reuters) – Blind Chinese legal activistChen Guangchengsaid on Saturday he has left a hospital inBeijing, where he has been for the past three weeks since he sought refuge in theU.S. embassy, and was waiting at the airport.
Chen said he believes he will be headed on a flight to theUnited States, but added he was still uncertain of it.
The departure of Chen and his family would mark the removal of a sticking point in already difficult U.S.-Chinarelations that have been marred byChina’s handling of human rights. TheU.S. embassywas not immediately available for comment.
Chen Guangcheng’s escape from house arrest in northeasternChinalast month and subsequent refuge in theU.S. embassycaused huge embarrassment forChina, and led to a serious diplomatic rift between the two superpowers while U.S. Secretary of StateHillary Clintonwas visitingBeijing.
Chen told Reuters by telephone: “I’m at the airport now. I’ve already left the hospital. But there are many things that are still unclear.”
Chen said that his wife and two children were at the airport with him, accompanied by hospital staff.
“Yes, I might be heading for a flight to theUnited States, but I haven’t been told, and I haven’t received our passports, so I’m not sure yet,” Chen said. “We’re waiting to find out what’s happening.”
The development came about three weeks after Chen arrived at theChaoyang Hospitalfrom theU.S. embassy, where he had taken refuge after a dramatic escape from 19 months under house arrest in his home village.
Chen’s confinement, his escape and the furore that ensued have made him part ofChina’s dissident folklore: a blind prisoner outfoxingCommunist Partycontrols in an echo of the man who stood down an army tank nearTiananmen Squarein 1989.
In 2006, Chen was sentenced to more than four years in jail on charges – vehemently denied by his wife and lawyers – that he whipped up a crowd that disrupted traffic and damaged property.
He was formally released in 2010 but remained under stifling house arrest in his home village in northeasternShandongprovince, which officials turned into a fortress of walls, security cameras and guards in plain clothes who kept Chen isolated.
The village ofDongshigu, where Chen’s mother and other relatives remain, is still under lockdown.
TheU.S. embassyhad earlier thought it had stuck a deal to allow Chen to stay inChinawithout retribution, but that fell apart as Chen grew worried about his family’s safety. He changed his mind about staying inChinaand asked to travel to theUnited States.
Human rights are a major factor in relations betweenChinaand theUnited States, even though the U.S. needsChina’s help on issues such as Iran,North Korea,Sudanand the fragile global economy.