Blind Chinese legal activist Chen Guangcheng and his family are on their way to the U.S., the State Department confirmed.
The Chens baggage had been checked into a flight bound for the United States, an official at Beijing airport said on Saturday, but there was no visual confirmation that Chen was on board.
Chen Guangcheng and his family were on United Airlines Flight 88, which the airline said departed late Saturday afternoon from the Beijing airport. The flight is scheduled to arrive in Newark, N.J., on Saturday evening.
The departure of Chen to the United States marks the conclusion of nearly a month of uncertainty for the self-taught legal activist who made an improbable escape from abusive house arrest in his village last month and sought protection from the American Embassy in Beijing.
After tense negotiations, Beijing and Washington agreed that Chen would be allowed to travel to the United States for him to study.
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