A Chinese man who handed out fliers in local parks about imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo has been detained on suspicion of subversion, a rights group and a fellow activist said yesterday.
It's the first such action taken against a Liu supporter since the Nobel prize announcement last month though many Liu supporters have reported police harassment, the group China Human Rights Defenders said.
The move marks a serious turn for anyone inside China who shows open support for Liu, whom the government calls a criminal for his demands for widespread political reform. It initially blocked news reports of his award and has been waging a campaign through state media to criticize both Liu and the prize.
Guo Xianliang, an engineer from the southern province of Yunnan, disappeared Thursday while on a business trip in the southern city of Guangzhou. He had been handing out fliers on the streets and in public parks there, the China-based rights group said.
Guo writes online about democratic reform but is not a well-known activist, and the group said he has not been in trouble before.