The family of a prominent Chinese dissident who is jailed on charges of subverting state power has fled China and arrived in the United States.

The U.S.-based ChinaAid group said in a statement that the wife and 12-year-old child of former university professor Guo Quan arrived Monday in Los Angeles, with the help of several Christian organizations.

The Christian rights advocacy group said Guo's family will appeal to the U.S. government for help in winning his release from prison.

Guo was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2009 after publishing several articles advocating a multi-party, elected democratic system in Beijing, as well as the nationalization of the Chinese military.

He was fired from his teaching job in 2008 in the eastern city of Nanjing after angering Chinese authorities by founding the New Democracy Party of China.

The news comes days after Chinese dissident writer Yu Jie fled into exile in the United States after complaining that he was tortured by Chinese police. Yu said last week from Washington that he was tortured because of his close association with jailed Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiabo.

Since December, China has given lengthy prison sentences to three Chinese dissidents on charges of inciting subversion.