Graham Matthews

Sun Xiaodi, a former miner at the Gansu No. 72 Uranium Mine in Chinese-controlled Tibet, remains “missing” over six months after he was abducted, following an interview with an AFP journalist in Beijing on April 28. Sun had travelled to Beijing to present a petition to the central government complaining of serious pollution caused by the mine, which was “closed as a matter of policy” in 2002 on the basis of mine exhaustion.

Near Beijing’s southern railway station, Sun was bundled into an unmarked car by suspected security personnel. Later in the day, officers of the State Security Bureau searched the Beijing home of a friend of Sun’s. The friend was told that Sun was a “wanted criminal” and that he had committed a “very serious crime related to state secrets”.

Human Rights in China (HRIC), which has championed Sun’s case, said that Sun’s daughter Sun Haiyan has repeatedly enquired about her father’s whereabouts but has been told by Beijing authorities that they know nothing.

In September, family and friends of Sun Xiaodi prepared a petition addressed to the Chinese President Hu Jintao, calling on Chinese authorities to immediately release him. The petition explained that Sun had information of the corruption of mine officials involving the extortion of 100 million yuan. Sun also alleged ongoing illicit production at the mine following its closure, as well as severe environmental pollution and radiation sickness in the surrounding area.

In a statement released in August, the HRIC stated: “HRIC condemns the unlawful abduction and secret detention of Sun Xiaodi, which violate both his Chinese constitutional rights and his human rights.

“HRIC calls on the Chinese authorities to immediately release Sun Xiaodi from custody, and as a matter of urgency to address the dangerous environmental contamination and severe health hazards to humans and animals near the No. 792 Uranium Mine.”

For more information, visit <http://www.hrchina.org>.

From Green Left Weekly, November 23, 2005.
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