Chinese Authorities Arrest Xu Zhengqing, Loosen Restrictions on Other Activists Following Conclusion of Zhao Ziyang Funeral

September 7, 2005

Human Rights in China reported on January 31 that Chinese authorities in Shanghai formally detained Xu Zhengqing. Authorities had taken Xu into custody in Beijing on January 29, along with 22 others, including Wang Qiaojuan, Zheng Peipei, and Chen Xiuqin, as they tried to attend memorial services for former senior leader Zhao Ziyang.

According to Boxun several activists who security authorities subjected to movement restrictions and surveillance have reported a lessening of official harassment after Zhao’s funeral ended. Boxun said that Qi Zhiyong and Li Jinping have been allowed to return home, and Ding Zilin, Jiao Guobiao, Zhang Xianling, and Liu Xiaobo report that police surveillance has ended around their homes.

In a separate Boxun article Dai Xuewu described the restrictions Chinese authorities had imposed upon him:

In fact, we all began to be subject to strict control from the day Zhao Ziyang passed away, that is, on January 17, 2005. On that day, Shanghai police set up a surveillance post outside where I live, and from that day on prohibited me from leaving, and when I tried to leave, they stopped me, and wouldn't let me go out to shop. When I asked them to provide a legal reason, the police answered that they had received orders from their superiors. From that day on, my telephone was cut off. Even until today my computer still does not work correctly, and I can only call out on my phone, no one can call in.

According to Dai, others who were subjected to similar restrictions include Yang Qinheng and Shen Jizhong.