Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng began his new life in the United States yesterday after a warm welcome but in Beijing he leaves behind a diplomatic mess that may prevent him ever returning home.

I’m not seeking exile in the US

Mr Chen, a self-taught lawyer, landed in New York with his wife and two young children on Saturday to a rapturous reception from his hosts and he quickly praised the “restraint and calm,” shown by the Chinese government.

The 40-year-old, who is to become a research fellow at New York University’s School of Law, has repeatedly said he is not seeking exile in the US and may one day want to go back to China.

But the Chinese government’s decision to allow a convicted citizen to leave its territory just weeks after he managed to flee house arrest and caused them huge international embarrassment is unlikely to be forgotten, analysts said.

Mr Chen won praise for investigating forced sterilisations and late-term abortions under a“one-child” family planning policy.

He served over four years in prison and, on his release from jail in 2010, he was subjected to house arrest in his home village in eastern China. But he made a dramatic escape in April, eventually securing sanctuary at the US embassy in Beijing in a step that prompted a diplomatic furore.

Chinese and American diplomats scrambled to find a solution to let the noted dissident stay in China and he left the embassy but he regretted it almost immediately, telling journalists that he wanted to go to the US.

After being holed up for more than two weeks at a Beijing hospital with his fate still uncertain, Mr Chen was suddenly given notice to pack up his belongings and prepare for departure to New York.

After landing, Mr Chen, his wife Yuan Weijing and their two young children were greeted with cheers on arrival at the university apartment block in Manhattan that now becomes their home.