Mary sent me this article from ABC News.

Excerpt:

Blind dissident Chen Guangcheng and his immediate family have left China on a flight to the United States. They are expected to arrive in Newark, N.J., Saturday evening.

State Dept Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland confirmed that Chen and his family left China so he can pursue studies at an American university.

“We are looking forward to his arrival in the United States later today. We also express our appreciation for the manner in which we were able to resolve this matter and to support Mr. Chen’s desire to study in the U.S. and pursue his goals,” Nuland said.

Their departure caps off three weeks of roller coaster diplomacy that reached the very highest levels of Chinese government and the White House.

The human rights activist is best known for his fight against forced abortions and sterilisations under the One Child Policy.

He served a four year prison sentence for what are widely believed to have been trumped up charges before being placed under a brutal, extra-judicial house arrest in his hometown province of Shandong.

Initially, it looked like the Obama administration would not honor their deal to take him, so this is surprising news.

I find it funny because although China has more repressive tactics against pro-lifers in practice, the Obama administration is on record as supporting China’s one child policy, as well as supporting forced abortions and mass sterilizations.