CHINA: A leading Chinese democracy activist, protesting at being beaten up by government-hired thugs, went missing yesterday after he tried to stage a hunger strike outside Beijing's central leadership compound.
Just as news was breaking that human-rights defender Yang Maodong had last been seen outside a police station and was missing, US internet giant Yahoo stood accused of again providing evidence to Chinese authorities that led to a pro-democracy journalist going to jail - the second case of its kind involving Yahoo.
The internet is a central medium for human-rights campaigners in China to exchange ideas, organise themselves and spread democracy. As a result, the ruling Communist Party has intensified its crackdown on freedom of speech, both on the internet and in traditional media, and clamped down on civil rights campaigners and lawyers.
Chinese human rights defenders have been staging a protest fast this week to show support for rural campaigner Mr Yang, taking turns fasting for 24 or 48 hours. Aids campaigner Hu Jia said Mr Yang went missing after he tried to protest at Zhongnanhai, China's heavily guarded seat of power near Tiananmen Square in the heart of the city.
"We know that at 6 o'clock yesterday he was at the Xicheng district police station, but we do not know where he is now. We cannot get hold of him via his mobile or by text messages," said Mr Hu.
Another one of the hunger strikers, Qi Zhiyong, whose left leg was amputated after he was hit by a soldier's bullet during the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, had gone to look for his colleague but had been picked up by police and dragged to his home.
Mr Hu's own home was under surveillance and he said that another leading member of the protest, Gao Zhisheng, a crusading lawyer who has represented members of the underground Christian church and Falun Gong practitioners, could also expect to come under pressure.
The hunger strike takes place in an atmosphere of growing pressure on human-rights campaigners and defenders of free speech in China. The latest furore over Western web firms in China comes shortly after Google was criticised for bowing down to Beijing and saying it would block politically sensitive terms on its new China site.
Veteran rights activist Liu Xiaobo said Yahoo had co-operated with Chinese police in a case that led to the 2003 arrest of Li Zhi, who was charged with subverting state power and jailed for eight years.
Yahoo said it had to obey local laws. But press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders insisted Yahoo knew it was helping to arrest dissidents and journalists.
In September, Yahoo was accused of helping Chinese authorities identify Shi Tao, who was sentenced last April to 10 years in prison for leaking state secrets abroad.
Recent examples of the clampdown include the dismissals of the editor of the outspoken Beijing News and the closure of Freezing Point, a supplement of the China Youth Daily known for its critical commentaries and investigative reporting.