China grants passports to relatives of activist Chen Guangcheng Family members of Chen Guangcheng, the blind Chinese activist who escaped house arrest last year, have been granted passports in an apparent goodwill gesture by Beijing on the eve of a summit between US President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. Chen Guangfu, eldest brother of Chen Guangcheng, said he and his mother, Wang Jinxiang, received passports on Friday and planned to apply for visas to visit the US. Chen Guangcheng, a self-trained lawyer who campaigned against forced abortions, fled house arrest last year and was smuggled into the US embassy, triggering a diplomatic crisis that was resolved when Chinese officials let him move to the US with his wife and children. Since Mr Chen's departure, his remaining family members have complained of abuse. The unexpected granting of passports came just hours before Mr Obama and Mr Xi meet for two days of talks at the Sunnylands estate in California. Activists in the US had pressed Mr Obama to highlight the continued harassment of Mr Chen's family as an example of Chinese human rights abuses. Beijing has in the past made concessions on high-profile human rights cases ahead of important bilateral meetings. Receiving a passport is the right of all citizens. There should be nothing strange about this. But I applied before and was turned down, so I am quite happy," Chen Guangfu told the Financial Times. You should not have to expend this much energy to protect your own rights. Chen Guangfu said the authorities had previously refused to accept his passport application because they said it would be difficult for him to obtain a US visa. On this occasion, he submitted his application on May 28 and received his passport by mail on Friday. The passport approval marks a sharp turnround from a month ago when Chen Guangfu said he and his family faced regular harassment, with thugs in his village of Dongshigu in Shandong province beating him, throwing dead animals at their home and spreading insulting fliers about them. Chen Guangfu's son Chen Kegui remains in jail after being sentenced to three years for clashing with local officials who raided his parents" home after his uncle's dramatic escape. Chen Guangfu said he intended to return to China after visiting the US. Rights campaigners in China are regularly denied passports as a form of punishment for their activities.