Chinese authorities are detaining human rights activists to strike out any potential dissent and criticism right ahead of the next month's Winter Olympics.
Free-speech advocate Yang Maodong was detained for undermining the Chinese authority on January 12, reported Wall Street Journal.
Notably, Yang, who writes under the pen name Guo Feixiong, has been blocked from leaving China for the past year.
Authorities rejected his pleas from friends and family, that he be allowed to be with his wife in her final months.
Friends said they had lost contact with the 55-year-old in early December, though it was only on Monday that police officially confirmed his detention to his family.
"It's really too cruel, too heartless," Yang Maoping, his sister said, adding that police had been vague about the reason for his detention, reported WSJ.
In another similar incident, Xie Yang, a 49-year old lawyer who has taken up politically sensitive cases related to religion and land rights, was detained on January 11.
He was also charged with subversion and was held captive, according to his family.
"You can imagine authorities all over the country are tightening control pre-emptively to strike out any potential dissent and criticism," said Renee Xia, a senior researcher with Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a Washington, D.C., based group.
Government officials from the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom will not attend the 2022 Olympics to protest Xi's treatment of ethnic minorities and other human rights violations.
( With inputs from ANI )
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