2015-03-12
Smoke rising from a power plant near Hengshui in China’s Hebei province.
AFP
Authorities in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong have detained a man after he retweeted calls for an anti-smog protest last weekend, his lawyer told RFA on Thursday.
Guangzhou-based rights activist Guo Chunping was handed a 14-day administrative sentence for suspicion of “planning to hold an illegal gathering” last week after he retweeted a message calling for a “face-mask gathering” on March 8.
The March 4 tweet read: “Give us back our blue skies: face-mask gathering on International Women’s Day,” Gu’s lawyer Ge Wenxiu told RFA.
“After he retweeted it, the authorities punished him because they believed he had plotted to carry out an illegal gathering,” Ge said.
“Guo was taken away by police on March 6, and placed under formal administrative detention on March 7,” he said.
Chinese police have the power to jail people they regard as troublemakers for up to 15 days under administrative detention, without the need for a trial.
Official harassment veteran
Guo, an outspoken rights activist, is no stranger to official harassment.
In 2012, he was summoned for questioning by state security police after he wrote a couple of microblog posts containing links to articles supportive of the December 2011 rebellion in Guangdong’s Wukan village, and of blind Shandong activist Chen Guangcheng, now based in the United States after being held under house arrest with his entire family.
Guo, who was also among a group of dinner guests turned away by police after they tried to visit outspoken activist Li Biyun at her home in Guangdong’s Shunde city last month, is scheduled for release on March 21, Ge said.
“They also searched his home and confiscated one computer and two cell phones,” Ge said after visiting Guo in the detention center.
“He said that some people have to pay a price to promote a more civilized society, and he can accept it if the authorities think that what he’s doing is illegal and want to detain and punish him for it,” he said. “He said he accepts the outcome with peace of mind.”
Ge said detention center staff appeared to be treating Guo well.
