O.C. pastor arrested in Beijing is being sent home

Eddie Perez Romero made headlines with his human rights protest in Beijing, where he painted slogans and bible verses on the walls of an upscale hotel room, which wound up on a much-watched video on YouTube. After hiding for two weeks, Romero was arrested during another protest near Tiananmen Square, then placed on a plane to San Francisco by Chinese officials. Greg Johnson has the story:

"We know he is flying into San Francisco and from there he's going to try and take a Southwest flight into L.A.," said his daughter, Sarah Yetter. She said she expected him to arrive in Los Angeles today in the late afternoon or early evening.

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing helped locate Romero after his arrest and apparently helped him get out of the country, said Tony Thomas, Romero's spokesman in La Puente.

"The Chinese have destroyed all his papers, his passport, everything," Thomas said. "So we're not sure what happens when he gets to San Francisco."

Romero wants freedom for five political and religious prisoners in Beijing, and for China to sign a U.N. human rights accord. The rest of Greg's story is here.

-- Veronique de Turenne

Photo credit: Aritz Parra / Associated Press