Chinese authorities have detained a blind activist and two of his relatives in an escalating standoff over coercive population policies, his wife said yesterday.
Chen Guangcheng (陳光誠), a 34-year-old opponent of forced abortions and sterilizations, was taken from his home in Dongshigu Village in Shandong Province late on Saturday, Yuan Weijing (袁偉靜) said.
"The last I saw was several people pushing my husband into a car," Yuan said by telephone from the village.
Chen was driven away along with a brother and a cousin just as they left their homes to complain to county officials over a severe beating suffered by the cousin earlier in the day, she said.
"He was beaten with sticks and had blood streaming down his face," Yuan said. "My husband got angry and wanted to complain."
The attack seemed to fit into a pattern of intimidation reportedly adopted by village officials hoping to silence Chen and others campaigning against the coercive policies.
Prior to being taken away on Saturday, Chen had been under house arrest and repeatedly beaten since September after he brought charges against local officials for the coercive measures.
Early last month, harassment of Chen and his family prompted 400 villagers to protest, causing a clash with police that left several people slightly injured.
Provincial or central government leaders have refused to intervene in the dispute, even though the coercive practices are illegal.
Police officials in the Dongshigu area contacted by reporters yesterday said they did not know about the case.
When China's one-child policy was introduced a quarter century ago, local cadres throughout the country devoted themselves to implementation with much vigor and little regard for the rights of expecting mothers.
The forced sterilizations and abortions and even infanticide that were reported to take place in the early years of the policy are now believed to have become much less common.
However, pockets of oppression remain. US-based Time magazine reported last fall that at least 7,000 people in the part of Shandong where Chen lives underwent forced abortions and sterilizations earlier last year.
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