Blind Chinese activist may soon depart for U.S.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng said on Saturday he had left a hospital in Beijing and was at the airport where he expected to be departing for the United States, a move that would signal the end of a diplomatic crisis between the two country.

Chen, who has been in hospital for the past three weeks since he sought refuge in the U.S. embassy, said he believed he would be headed on a flight to the United States, but added he was still uncertain of it. The U.S. embassy was not immediately available for comment.

Chen'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 while U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was visiting Beijing.

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.

Two police cars were stationed below the walkway to the plane Chen was expected to board, and about 10 security officials in plainclothes circulated around the airport.

Several photographers were in position at the waiting area, but passengers at the gate to Chen's flight appeared not to know that he would be on the same flight.

"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."

DRAMATIC ESCAPE

The development came about three weeks after Chen arrived at the Chaoyang Hospital from the U.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 of China's dissident folklore: a blind prisoner outfoxing Communist Party controls in an echo of the man who stood down an army tank near Tiananmen Square in 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.

Chen had led campaigns for farmers and disabled citizens and exposed forced abortions.

He was formally released in 2010 but remained under house arrest in his home village in northeastern Shandong province, which officials turned into a fortress of walls, security cameras and guards in plain clothes who kept Chen isolated.

The village of Dongshigu, where Chen's mother and other relatives remain, is still under lockdown.

The U.S. embassy had earlier thought it had stuck a deal to allow Chen to stay in China without retribution, but that fell apart as Chen grew worried about his family's safety. He changed his mind about staying in China and asked to travel to the United States.

Human rights are a major factor in relations between China and the United States, even though Washington needs China's help on issues such as Iran, North Korea, Sudan and the fragile global economy.

Chen Guangcheng's nephew, Chen Kegui, was denied his family's choice of lawyers on Friday to defend a charge of "intentional homicide", the latest in a series of moves to deny him legal representation, and underscores the hardline stance taken against Chen Guangcheng's family. (nL4E8GI4F0)

Earlier on Saturday, Chen said the authorities' drive to "manipulate" his nephew's case would not succeed.

(Reporting by Chris Buckley, Max Duncan and Michael Martina; Writing by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Daniel Magnowski)

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