On her Twitter account, human-rights activist Zeng Jinyan said she spoke to Mr. Chen's wife, YuanWeijing, on Wednesday and was told authorities had threatened the Chens if they didn't stay.
In a brief interview with The Wall Street Journal on Saturday before they left China, Mr. Chen's wife, YuanWeijing, said they had left the Beijing hospital where they had been staying without any interaction with Chinese officials.