Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng to meet Pelosi, Boehner
Blind activist Chen Guangcheng with his wife and son outside the home in northeast China’s Shandong province, March 28, 2005.
Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng travels to Washington later this week to meet with members of Congress including House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, according to POLITICO.
They are due to hold a press conference with reporters, following the meeting on Wednesday.
More from GlobalPost: Chen Guangcheng explained
Chen, a blind activist and self-taught lawyer, escaped Chinese house arrest in April and fled to the US embassy in Beijing, sparking a major diplomatic incident days ahead of a high level visit from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
He had been under house arrest following his 2006 arrest for filing a lawsuit that alleged the Chinese government was performing forced abortions and sterilizations under the nation's “one child” policy.
Chen, along with his family, arrived safely in the United States in mid-May after securing a fellowship offer to continue his studies at New York University.
He was scheduled to testify last week at a US House hearing on human rights conditions in China but declined to appear, apparently out of fear of reprisal against relatives back in China, Agence France-Presse wrote.
Chen eventually arrived in the United States with his family in mid-May for a legal fellowship at New York University, The Hill reported.
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