Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng's mother and oldest brother have been granted visas to visit Chen in the US, where he has lived since shortly after escaping house arrest in China last year.
The brother, Chen Guangfu, says he and his mother, Wang Jinxiang, were given the visas on Thursday and will soon travel to New York, where Chen Guangcheng lives with his wife and two children.
Chen Guangfu said his elderly mother is making the trip because Chen Guangcheng is unlikely to be able to return to China anytime soon.
The activist, who is blind, sparked a diplomatic crisis in April 2012 when he escaped house arrest in his rural town and sought refuge in the US Embassy in Beijing. Chinese officials later let him move to the US.
