Feng Zhenghu has been camping out at Tokyo's international airport for 50 days, sleeping on a blue plastic bench and surviving on handouts of crackers and noodles from passers-by.

The Chinese rights activist whiles away the hours reading and watching wistfully as other travelers come and go _ a situation reminiscent of "The Terminal," the movie about a stateless man stuck at New York's Kennedy Airport.

But unlike the film character played by Tom Hanks, Feng is free to leave _ he has a valid Chinese passport and a visa to enter Japan. He's staying to protest China's refusal to let him return to his homeland, where he's been denied entry eight times since June.

"I'm a Chinese citizen, and I just want to go back to China. It's outrageous that I can't return to my own country," he told The Associated Press. Wednesday was his 50th day living in Terminal 1.

"I'm not doing this just for me. It's for the Chinese people," said the 55-year-old Feng, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with handwritten Chinese messages and a demand in English: "Return to China."

Feng had traveled often to Japan, where he studied economics and worked as a business consultant. But he angered authorities in his homeland with writings on alleged wrongdoing by local authorities and for supporting student protests. Amnesty International describes Feng, who spent three years in prison, as a prominent human rights defender.

On the last of his attempts to return to China, he got as far as Shanghai's Pudong airport, where Chinese officials forced him to get back on a plane for Tokyo, which arrived Nov. 4.

Fed up, he decided to camp out at Narita International Airport.

He gets by on handouts from travelers. Some flight crews also bring him sandwiches, salad and drinks. His sister, who lives in Japan, has tried to bring him food and supplies, but officials refused to deliver them.

Using his cell phone and laptop, Feng spends his time talking to supporters, reading news on the Web and posting blogs and tweets on Twitter, where he has 8,500 followers.

"This has become a new tourist spot, a place to promote human rights. Visitors to Japan have to see the scene, which would surely leave a serious impression," read one Twitter entry Tuesday.

"I don't mention flight attendants bringing me food so often but they do very often, and I appreciate them so much," read another.

As word of Feng's predicament spread, he became something of a celebrity. Supporters at human rights organizations, including from Hong Kong, flew in to drop off food and other supplies, including a battery-charged water heater, a portable DVD player _ and a copy of "The Terminal."