U.S. Expects Activist Chen Guangcheng to Leave China Soon

May 4, 2012

A breakthrough emerged today in the case of Chen Guangcheng, the Christian Chinese human rights activist who escaped from home prison and took refuge at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing for six days before reaching out to U.S. Congress to plead for help in leaving China with his family, CNN reports. The U.S. state department said Chen had been offered a fellowship at an American university "where he can be accompanied by his wife and two children." State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said: "The Chinese government has indicated that it will accept Mr. Chen's applications for appropriate travel documents. The United States government expects that the Chinese government will expeditiously process his applications for these documents, and make accommodations for his current medical condition. The United States government would then give visa requests for him and his immediate family priority attention. This matter has been handled in the spirit of a cooperative U.S.-China partnership."