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    May 09, 2012

Blind Chinese Activist Says Paperwork for US Trip Ready

   VOA News
   This undated photo provided by the China Aid Association shows blind
   Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng, right, with his son, Chen
   Kerui, with his wife Yuan Weijing, left, in Shandong province, China.
   Photo: AP
   This undated photo provided by the China Aid Association shows blind
   Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng, right, with his son, Chen
   Kerui, with his wife Yuan Weijing, left, in Shandong province, China.

   Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng says all of the paperwork for his trip
   to the U.S. is ready, and that he is waiting to receive his passport
   from Chinese authorities.
   Chen spoke with reporters Wednesday from a Beijing hospital where he is
   receiving medical treatment for injuries suffered during his escape
   from house arrest.
   AP Reporter: "The U.S. paperwork has been done?"
   Chen Guangcheng: "Yes. They told me that on the U.S. side, the
   formalities are completed."
   AP Reporter: "What does it mean when you said the U.S. paperwork has
   been done? What kind of paperwork?"
   Chen Guangcheng: "It means that the preparation is ready, like the
   invitation letter. The materials that the school needs to prepare,
   that's all done."

   Chen says he is confident that China will allow him to leave the
   country under arrangements announced last week by Washington and
   Beijing. The self-taught lawyer, 40, has been offered a scholarship at
   the New York University of Law.
   After fleeing house arrest, Chen spent six days at the U.S. embassy in
   Beijing, prompting complaints of "interference" by Chinese officials.
   Chen originally agreed to a deal reached by U.S. and Chinese
   authorities that would allow him to stay in a "safe" place in China and
   study law. But he changed his mind hours after leaving U.S. protection,
   saying his family had been threatened.
   On Friday, China's Foreign Ministry said Chen is free to apply to study
   outside the country.
   Chen was given a four-year prison sentence in 2006 for exposing abuses
   under China's forced abortion policy aimed at population control. He
   had been under house arrest since 2010, before fleeing on April 22 to
   the U.S. embassy.

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