Chen Guangcheng ‘to get passport within 15 days’

“They said the passports should be issued within 15 days.”

The meeting was the first between the activist and government officials since
May 7, when they told Chen they were processing papers for him to leave to
the United States where he has been offered fellowships to study law.

Chen won plaudits for exposing rights abuses including forced sterilisations
and late-term abortions under China’s “one-child” family planning policy.

His activism earned him a four-year prison sentence that ended in 2010 when he
was placed under extra-legal house arrest in his home village of Dongshigu,
in the eastern province of Shandong, where he languished until his escape.

His dramatic flight came just days before US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton arrived in Beijing for pre-arranged talks, and made headlines around
the world, causing major embarrassment for the Chinese government.

As Clinton arrived in China, Chen was released by the US embassy to a Beijing
hospital after Chinese authorities guaranteed his safety.

But last week, officials in Shandong charged his nephew, Chen Kegui, with
“intentional homicide” over an attack on a local official who broke into the
family’s home following his uncle’s escape.

The official survived the attack but the charge related to “homicide” stands
under Chinese law, and Chen has said his nephew’s arrest was motivated by
revenge over his escape.

“I told the government official of the situation in Dongshigu, and they said
they would investigate,” Chen said, of his Wednesday meeting with the
authorities.

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