Chinese authorities have detained the relatives of several dissidents living abroad, they said, as part of a widening crackdown following the publication of a letter critical of Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
Germany-based reporter Chang Ping (長平) said local authorities in southwestern Sichuan Province have detained his two younger brothers and a younger sister in connection with suspicions that he had been involved in writing an anonymous letter calling on Xi to step down for the good of China.
“Numerous relatives in China have been subject to investigation, harassment and threats” after he discussed the letter in an article and interview, Chang said in a statement posted on the Web site chinachange.org.
Police had asked them to demand that he cease publishing any criticism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), “or the government would find ways to charge my family members,” he said in the document, dated Sunday.
Chang, a prominent commentator on contemporary affairs, was formerly a senior journalist at the outspoken Southern Weekend newspaper, but moved to Germany after coming under sustained pressure for advocating more government openness and accountability.
The detention of Chang’s family is the latest example of what appears to be a widening campaign of intimidation aimed at people thought to be associated with the letter criticizing Xi.
Last week, New York-based Wen Yunchao (溫雲超) said officials in southern Guangdong Province had taken away three of his family members.
Chang and Wen have both denied any connection to the letter.
Four members of staff at Wujie News, a state-backed Web site which carried the letter earlier this month before deleting it, have been missing since last week, a reporter at the outlet said.
According to reports, 10 associated technical personnel have also been held. Media criticism of top leaders is almost unheard of in China, where the media is strictly controlled by the CCP. The letter, seen by reporters in a cached form, berated Xi for centralizing authority, mishandling the economy and tightening ideological controls.
“Due to your gathering of all power into your own hands ... we are now facing unprecedented problems and crises in politics, economics, ideology and culture,” it said.
Chinese journalist Jia Jia (賈葭) was detained last week at Beijing Capital International Airport ahead of a flight to Hong Kong before being released on Friday evening.
Rights groups linked his detention to an official probe into the letter.
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