Blind legal activist Chen Guangcheng says Beijing has reneged on promises to safeguard his family and wants to leave China - a dramatic U-turn that has prompted renewed talks between US and Chinese diplomats.
A US official said the assistant secretary of state, Kurt Campbell, had been in touch with the Chinese side about Chen's case yesterday.
On the phone with the South China Morning Post from his Beijing hospital room yesterday, Chen explained his change of heart - just hours after he left the US embassy in the capital following a six-day stay.
He said he was disappointed with the agreement, which was hastily reached to provide necessary safety assurances for Chen and his family on the eve of high-level bilateral talks and was initially seen as a victory for both sides to avoid an escalation of the stand-off.
'I feel there are no safeguards for my citizen's rights nor my safety,' Chen said. 'Now I just want to get medical treatment and rest, I haven't thought of other things.'
Chen only found out after he left the embassy from his wife that she had been badly treated by local officials since his escape.