BBC Online :
A Beijing-based columnist has gone missing while on his way to Hong Kong, his lawyer has told the BBC.
No-one has had contact with Jia Jia since Tuesday night when he was set to board his flight. His wife has reported him missing.
He is said to have warned an editor friend about
publishing an anonymous letter calling for President Xi Jinping’s resignation. The letter appeared on a state-linked site but was swiftly taken down.
It is unclear who authored the letter, which had the byline “loyal Communist Party supporters”. Mr Jia had reportedly insisted he had no connection to the letter.
The incident appears to be the latest in a string of high-profile censorship incidents, amid a ramp-up of state campaigns aimed at burnishing Mr Xi’s image. Mr Jia, who is in his 30s, is known for writing commentaries for the online news portal Tencent. He was due to fly from Beijing to Hong Kong on Tuesday when he became uncontactable. The newspaper Apple Daily quoted Mr Jia’s wife as saying she last spoke to him at 20:00 local time on Tuesday, and he told her he was about to board the plane to Hong Kong.
A Beijing-based columnist has gone missing while on his way to Hong Kong, his lawyer has told the BBC.
No-one has had contact with Jia Jia since Tuesday night when he was set to board his flight. His wife has reported him missing.
He is said to have warned an editor friend about
publishing an anonymous letter calling for President Xi Jinping’s resignation. The letter appeared on a state-linked site but was swiftly taken down.
It is unclear who authored the letter, which had the byline “loyal Communist Party supporters”. Mr Jia had reportedly insisted he had no connection to the letter.
The incident appears to be the latest in a string of high-profile censorship incidents, amid a ramp-up of state campaigns aimed at burnishing Mr Xi’s image. Mr Jia, who is in his 30s, is known for writing commentaries for the online news portal Tencent. He was due to fly from Beijing to Hong Kong on Tuesday when he became uncontactable. The newspaper Apple Daily quoted Mr Jia’s wife as saying she last spoke to him at 20:00 local time on Tuesday, and he told her he was about to board the plane to Hong Kong.
