Exiled Chinese Dissident Arrives in U.S.

A prominent Chinese dissident, released from a labor camp this year, arrived in the United States on Wednesday but said his exile will be temporary and he hopes to return to China soon.

Shanghai political activist Bao Ge, 34, said on his arrival that he plans to work with human rights organizations, learn from other Chinese dissidents in exile in the U.S. and then return to China.

“I am happy that I left . . . that repressive regime,” he said through a translator at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

His sister, Bao Ying, 29, who accompanied him from China, said her brother will return to China “as soon as the situation [is] relaxed.”

Earlier, Bao said in a faxed statement that President Jiang Zemin’s recent visit to the U.S. had created a brief climate of tolerance, allowing him to leave China.

Since his release, Bao has become one of China’s most outspoken dissidents, urging the government to free political prisoners and allow greater civil liberties.

He has been followed by police and denied an identity card, which prevented him from getting a job. His family’s phone service has been cut periodically, and a reporter who tried to visit their home Tuesday was turned back by police.