Beijing admits holding democracy activist
By Eva Cheng
Chinese officials have at long last indirectly confirmed that veteran pro-democracy activist Wei Jiangsheng is in their custody, a year after he had disappeared into a police van. Officials had previously claimed ignorance of Wei's whereabouts. But even now, they still refuse to reveal the ground on which Wei was held again.
Wei only had a brief spell of freedom — during which he was still closely watched — before his release in September 1993, after 14
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According to Hong Kong newspapers earlier this month, Marie Holzmann, a translator friend of Wei who is actively campaigning for his release, told reporters in Hong Kong after a visit to Beijing in April that officials had assured her Wei was in good health.
According to Holzmann, Wei's sister Wei Shanshan, who is living in Hamburg and who joined her for the trip, was told by the authorities that they "can't" tell her where Wei is, nor might she see Wei or leave letters for him.
Wei continued to publish political essays and speak to foreign journalists after his 1993 release, activities that the Chinese authorities consider "counter-revolutionary".
Another veteran pro-democracy activist, Wang Xizhe, has been put under house arrest for another four years after the authorities unilaterally extended his two-year parole last month. The parole followed a 12-year jail term.
Like Wei, Wang was arrested for his political activities in the late '70s. But Wang was an earlier pioneer who braved the even more repressive rule in 1974 by calling for democracy through a famous "big character poster" in Guangzhou.
According to the New-York based group Human Rights in China, Wang will be put under close surveillance during this period, may not leave his home in the southern city of Guangzhou and must report his activities and thoughts regularly to the police. Wang was said to have filed more than 40 written appeals, but all went unanswered.