Beijing gives passport to brother of dissident who escaped house arrest
Chen Guangcheng's brother and mother have received passports from Chinese authorities
The brother of blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, whose flight to the US embassy last year provoked a diplomatic crisis, has been given his first ever passport by authorities in Beijing, he said on Friday.
The development comes on the day that Chinese President Xi Jinping is to start his first summit with President Barack Obama in California.
Chen Guangfu now plans to travel to Taiwan to meet his brother, who now lives in the US after his dramatic escape from house arrest last year, which infuriated Chinese authorities.
A diplomatic stand-off ensued for several weeks until the lawyer was allowed to leave the country.
Chen Guangfu told AFP he received a passport along with his mother, Wang Jinxiang, after applying in January.
“We received (the passports) by post, there was no reason stated for why they arrived now,” he said.
