Activist confident China will allow him to leave

5:45 AM, May 7, 2012   |    comments
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BEIJING -- A Chinese activist who triggered a diplomatic dispute between China and the United States says he is confident that Beijing will hold up its end of a tentative deal to let him study overseas.

Chen Guangcheng said in a phone interview Monday that he has entrusted hospital staff to help him handle the paperwork necessary for him and his family to obtain travel documents.

Chen is a blind, self-taught lawyer who made a daring escape from brutal house arrest by local authorities in his rural town into U.S. diplomatic custody in Beijing more than a week ago. It set off a diplomatic standoff over his case.

Chen may be able to leave to study in the United States under evolving arrangements announced Friday by Washington and Beijing.

The Associated Press