CHINA: Beijing police have detained the organiser of a planned 5,000-strong protest march to mourn China's deposed Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang, the organiser's wife and sources said yesterday.
The security apparatus, obsessed with stability, have been on alert against any protest in the wake of Zhao's death on Monday. Zhao was toppled as party chief in 1989 for opposing the army crackdown on the Tiananmen Square student-led demonstrations for democracy and lived under house arrest for more than 15 years.
Zhao Xin (36), a student who negotiated with the government in 1989 and is now an executive at a Beijing real estate company, was taken into custody on Friday after police rejected his protest application, his wife Bi Ning said. The two Zhaos are not related.
"Police came to our home and took him away. He took with him some books and clothes for changing," Ms Bi told reporters.
"I phoned the police, who told me not to worry and said he's fine. But I feel uneasy because I'm in the dark about his situation," the wife said.
Mr Zhao Xin was held without trial for a year for his role in the Tiananmen protests.
Two sources close to Mr Zhao said he had applied to police for permission to stage the march to the former leader's home in central Beijing from Tsinghua University in the western part of the capital. Police rejected the application on the grounds it should have been submitted seven days in advance.