Crowds gather outside a hospital in Beijing, hoping for a glimpse of Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng after he left the U.S. embassy earlier in the day.<br/> <br />Chinese authorities say the blind activist who escaped house arrest left the embassy "of his own volition" after being there for six days.<br/> <br />A senior U.S. official said Chen planned to stay in China.<br/> <br />It is unclear whether Chen is still inside the hospital ... But journalists waited outside the hospital hoping for a sign of the dissident late into the night.<br/> <br />The focus on Chen comes as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in China attending a dinner Wednesday night ahead of annual talks with Chinese leaders as part of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue due to begin Thursday.<br/> <br />Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters.
