China writer faces subversion charge

A Chinese dissident writer has been arrested for allegedly subverting state power, a watchdog organization said Monday.

Lu Gengsong, 51, was formally arrested Saturday in Hangzhou, the capital of eastern China's Zhejiang province, on charges of "inciting subversion of state power," said a statement from China Human Rights Defenders, an international network of activists and rights monitoring groups.

China's Communist Party often uses the vaguely worded subversion charge against activists deemed threatening to its rule.

CHRD cited Lu's wife, Wang Xue'e, as saying he was initially detained Aug. 24 on suspicion of subverting state power and illegal possession of state secrets. The second charge was apparently dropped, it said.

The group said it believes Lu is "being persecuted for exercising his freedom of expression and for undertaking activities to defend human rights."

It gave no specific details about Lu's human rights work. It said he is a former lecturer and dissident writer.

China's ruling Communist Party has taken some steps to appear more open ahead of the Beijing Olympics next summer, such as loosening restrictions on foreign reporters.

But critics say its grip on dissent has in fact tightened under President Hu Jintao. They say controls on religion, the domestic media, political activism and the Internet have been ratcheted up in recent years.

In a separate statement, the group said police had detained the son and brother of Ye Guozhu, a Beijing resident who was is serving a four-year prison sentence for disturbing the social order after he applied for a permit to hold a protest against forced evictions.

Ye was reportedly evicted from his home to make way for a facility for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. His son, Ye Mingjun, was detained Sunday on suspicion of subverting state power and Guozhu's brother, Ye Guoqiang, was detained Saturday though his family had not received notice of what charges he might face, CHRD said.

The group called on the government to immediately release all three men, saying their detention violates their constitutional right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Public Security Bureau officials in Hangzhou and Beijing who were reached by telephone on Monday denied knowledge of the two cases. Like many Chinese officials, they refused to give their names.