BEIJING: China has eased some restrictions on a blind legal activist whose smothering, secretive detention in his village has become the focus of protests at home and condemnation abroad, sources close to his family said.

Activists said the government of Linyi in eastern Shandong province in October allowed Chen Guangcheng's 77 year old mother to leave Chen's home village to buy supplies for the family; a hint that officials have softened some of the harshest restrictions on him and his family, all of whom have been under house arrest for nearly 15 months.

The fate of Chen, a charismatic, self-schooled advocate who has campaigned against forced abortions, has become a test of wills, pitting the ruling Communist Party's crackdown on dissent against rights activists who have rallied around his cause and that of the artist Ai Weiwei.

An activist based in the east Chinese city of Nanjing, told Reuters the Shandong provincial government had responded to some of the requests of Chen's supporters. Those included allowing Chen to receive medicine sent by supporters and to allow his six year old daughter to go to school.

One of Chen’s family friends said that, “He is at a delicate crossroads now. The three conditions that we've requested the government for have basically been met. Except the issue about seeking medical treatment, they haven't allowed him to go to the hospital for a full check-up.”

Chen angered Shandong officials in 2005 by exposing a programme of forced abortions as part of China's one-child policy. He was formally released in September 2010 after four years in jail on a charge of “blocking traffic”.

In recent months, dozens of supporters have been blocked from visiting Chen. Many of them were beaten by men in plain clothes.