BEIJING (BP) -- Chen Guangcheng, the Chinese human rights advocate who escaped house arrest, has left the U.S. Embassy in Beijing but still fears for his safety despite statements from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton suggesting he had secured a hopeful future.

"I am pleased that we were able to facilitate Chen Guangcheng's stay and departure from the U.S. Embassy in a way that reflected his choices and our values," Clinton said in a statement Tuesday (May 2). "I was glad to have the chance to speak with him today and to congratulate him on being reunited with his wife and children."

But in an interview with the Associated Press from a hospital room in Beijing, "a shaken Chen" said he agreed to leave the embassy when U.S. officials explained the threat to his wife and two children if he remained.

'The United States government and the American people are committed to remaining engaged with Mr. Chen.' -- Hillary Clinton

Chen, in the AP interview, appealed for further help from the United States, asking officials to help him and his family leave China safely.

Chen, a 40-year-old self-trained lawyer who has been blind since childhood, was imprisoned and then placed under house arrest for exposing forced abortions under China's one-child policy. In one of the most tragic examples Chen had helped uncover, the government forced a woman who was seven months pregnant to have an abortion, and then forcibly sterilized her, LifeNews.com reported.

Though U.S. officials had helped Chen enter the embassy and then assisted in his transition to a local hospital, no U.S. officials stayed behind at the hospital, and Chen's family feared for their safety, AP said. Read More