Chinese Man Lives Inside Tokyo International Airport for Three Months

A Chinese activist who has spent more than three months living inside Tokyo's international airport said Tuesday that Chinese officials have given him permission to return home.

Photo: Chinese Man Lives Inside Tokyo International Airport for Three Months

Feng Zhenghu has been camping out at Narita International Airport since early November to protest China's refusal to let him enter his homeland. Feng had angered the Chinese government with writings on alleged wrongdoing by local authorities and for supporting student protests.

Feng had already announced Sunday that he had decided to end his protest after meeting with officials from the Chinese Embassy last week. But it wasn't clear until Tuesday whether China would allow him to re-enter the country — he had been denied entry eight times since June, prompting his protest.

"Chinese officials told me that they are giving me permission to go back to Shanghai ," Feng, 55, told reporters Tuesday at the airport terminal , where reporters were allowed in by security, The Associated Press reports.

"Of course I'll continue my human rights activism," Feng told reporters at Narita, where he has lived on a bench near the immigration exit counter and survived mostly on instant noodles given to him by supporters.

"Pro-democracy and human rights activism are part of my life, so I'll continue it," he said at a press conference he called at the airport, stressing that his work is legal under the Chinese constitution, AFP reports.