BEIJING — Police in southwestern China on Thursday took away a veteran activist who runs a rights monitoring website, the activist’s mother said.
Eleven police officers arrived at Huang Qi’s home in Chengdu and produced a summons for Huang before taking him away, his mother, Pu Wenqing, said.
Huang founded a rights monitoring website and has long been one of China’s most outspoken advocates for the rights of people who try to bring their grievances to the attention of the government but often face police harassment. He served a five-year prison sentence starting in 2003 on subversion charges.
The police officers, who were from bureaus in Chengdu and Beijing, also searched Huang’s home and took away five computers, two mobile phones, and other equipment, Pu said.
The officers said Huang was to be questioned on suspicion of causing a disturbance but gave no details, according to Pu. The vaguely defined offense has been used to prosecute activists in the past year as part of an ongoing crackdown on dissent.
The involvement of Beijing police indicated that the investigation into Huang might be related to three people who were detained in Beijing earlier this week for writing about a crackdown in the capital for Huang’s website.
Huang’s website regularly reports about activists’ attempts to draw attention to their complaints, which can range from issues such as illegal home demolitions to labor disputes. He is among the most vocal campaigners for people often perceived to be the most vulnerable and powerless in their struggle to defend their rights.