BEIJING, May 19 (Reuters) – Blind Chinese legal activist
Chen Guangcheng said on Saturday he has left a hospital in
Beijing and was waiting at the airport.
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 the United 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.”
Chen Guangcheng’s escape from house arrest in northeastern
China last month and subsequent refuge in the U.S. embassy
caused huge embarrassment for China, and led to a serious
diplomatic rift between the two superpowers while U.S. Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton was visiting Beijing.
(Reporting by Chris Buckley, Writing by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by
Daniel Magnowski)
