China begins Chen exit process The Chinese government has begun to help blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng prepare for leaving the country under a deal agreed with the US government but is likely to take some time, Mr Chen told the FT on Tuesday. The remarks offer the first confirmation that Beijing is taking concrete steps to follow up on a statement made last Friday that Mr Chen could apply to study abroad like any other citizen. Mr Chen said the central government had sent Guo Shucong, a senior official from the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, the office dealing with petitions, to help him with the formalities. New York University has said it is ready to issue a formal invitation for Mr Chen to travel there as a visiting scholar as the basis for the US to issue him a visa. But the Chinese authorities need to give him a passport first. Jerome Cohen, the veteran Chinese law professor at NYU who was involved in discussing solutions with Mr Chen after he fled to the US embassy last week, said given Beijing's slow pace in implementing this agreement, he expected Mr Chen to stay in China for another few weeks. "It would be too early to say it's going to go very quickly," Mr Chen said. But he added that the government representatives had assured him the deal was on. They just said that the attitude of the central government is very clear, that they will do it for me. Mr Chen said he had also discussed with Mr Guo an earlier demand that Beijing stop the local authorities in Shandong, his home province, from continuing the abuse he and his family suffered under extralegal house arrest since he returned home from jail in 2010. The activist pleaded for attention to the fate of his other relatives and friends, some of whom have come under pressure for helping him or being close to him. Chen Kegui, his nephew, has been detained after a fight in which Mr Chen said he defended himself against local government officials who had entered his house to beat up the family in the middle of the night after Mr Chen's escape from house arrest. Human rights advocates have warned that local authorities are still likely to attempt revenge against those who helped Mr Chen. Mr Cohen said this was a worry but said Beijing might be trying not to crack down too hard. "Clearly we see that several people associated with Chen Guangcheng have seen pressure in recent days," he said. But I also note that they have been released fairly promptly, which is not in line with their usual practice. We could be seeing new tactics here, which may be a reflection of new orders. Additional reporting by Zhao Tianqi