ID :
24588
Wed, 10/15/2008 - 16:37
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/24588
The shortlink copeid
Chinese activist's wife removed from Beijing during Olympics+
BEIJING, Oct. 14 Kyodo - The wife and baby daughter of Chinese activist Hu Jia were relocated from Beijing during the Olympics, in what was believed to be the authorities' attempt at preventing their contacts with foreign reporters, sources knowledgeable about the situation have said.
The removal of Zeng Jinyan and the 11-month-old girl to Dalian, a city 500
kilometers northeast of Beijing, took place even as China had made improvement
of human rights part of its Olympic pledge.
Zeng, 25, and the baby have effectively been under house arrest in their
apartment in the Beijing suburbs since December last year, when Hu was
detained.
According to the sources, security officials visited their residence on Aug. 7,
the day before the Olympics opening ceremony, and forced Zeng, the baby and
Zeng's mother into a car.
The officials allowed them to see Hu on the same day, and then took them to
Dalian in Liaoning Province on Aug. 8, keeping them at a hotel there until Aug.
23, a day before the closing ceremony, according to the sources.
Zeng and the baby stayed in one hotel room while Zeng's mother stayed in the
next room, and security officials monitored them 24 hours a day, denying them
permission to go out, the sources said.
One of the sources said Zeng had complained, asking why she could not even live
in her own home.
Hu is a prominent political activist who has campaigned for issues ranging from
democracy to the rights of AIDS patients. He was jailed for three and a half
years in April on subversion charges.
Hu was considered one of the main contenders for the Nobel Peace Prize this
year, although the honor went to former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari for
his peace-building and brokering efforts in international conflicts.
When the Nobel prize winner was announced last Friday, security officials were
seen standing at the entrance of Zeng's Beijing apartment building as well as
an area near the window of her room, preventing Zeng and the baby from going
outside.
The removal of Zeng Jinyan and the 11-month-old girl to Dalian, a city 500
kilometers northeast of Beijing, took place even as China had made improvement
of human rights part of its Olympic pledge.
Zeng, 25, and the baby have effectively been under house arrest in their
apartment in the Beijing suburbs since December last year, when Hu was
detained.
According to the sources, security officials visited their residence on Aug. 7,
the day before the Olympics opening ceremony, and forced Zeng, the baby and
Zeng's mother into a car.
The officials allowed them to see Hu on the same day, and then took them to
Dalian in Liaoning Province on Aug. 8, keeping them at a hotel there until Aug.
23, a day before the closing ceremony, according to the sources.
Zeng and the baby stayed in one hotel room while Zeng's mother stayed in the
next room, and security officials monitored them 24 hours a day, denying them
permission to go out, the sources said.
One of the sources said Zeng had complained, asking why she could not even live
in her own home.
Hu is a prominent political activist who has campaigned for issues ranging from
democracy to the rights of AIDS patients. He was jailed for three and a half
years in April on subversion charges.
Hu was considered one of the main contenders for the Nobel Peace Prize this
year, although the honor went to former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari for
his peace-building and brokering efforts in international conflicts.
When the Nobel prize winner was announced last Friday, security officials were
seen standing at the entrance of Zeng's Beijing apartment building as well as
an area near the window of her room, preventing Zeng and the baby from going
outside.
