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Blind Chinese Activist Traveling From US to Taiwan


Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng waves to media as he arrives at the Taipei International Airport in Taoyuan, Taiwan, June 23, 2013.
Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng waves to media as he arrives at the Taipei International Airport in Taoyuan, Taiwan, June 23, 2013.
Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng arrives in Taiwan Sunday for a series of speeches that are likely to anger Beijing.

Chen's sponsor, the Taiwan Association for China Human Rights, said in a statement that the 18-day trip is part of Chen's efforts to enhance freedoms and human rights for his fellow Chinese.

Chen sparked a diplomatic crisis between China and the United States a year ago when he fled from house arrest to the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Since then, he has been a special student at New York University's U.S.-Asia Law Institute. The university released him earlier this month, saying his scheduled year at the university was up. However, Chen accused the university of bowing to pressure from Beijing and forcing him to leave.

Chen angered local officials in China by documenting complaints about forced abortions and other abuses of China's one-child policy.

Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.

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