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China detains mainlanders for supporting HK protests

At least 13 arrested, dozens harassed by authorities
China detains mainlanders for supporting HK protests

Activist Song Ningsheng of Jiangxi Province was taken away by police for holding up signs in support of the Hong Kong protests (Photo: CRLW)

Published: October 01, 2014 09:50 AM GMT
Updated: September 30, 2014 10:51 PM GMT

Chinese authorities have detained at least 13 people and harassed dozens more across the mainland for voicing their support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, a coalition of rights groups said on Wednesday.

Police detained as many as 20 people after a gathering in a park in Guangzhou on Tuesday, according to Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD). However, the group could only confirm that two individuals from the gathering had been detained and then released, it added.

Detentions and harassment were also recorded in Beijing, Shanghai and Chongqing, where security officers have reportedly issued threats to people about speaking in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests.

“The occupation of several areas in Hong Kong, including parts of its financial and political center, has inspired many Chinese on the mainland and encouraged them to speak up for democracy,” said CHRD, which has worked with other rights groups on the mainland to document cases of abuse by authorities.

In Shenzhen, the border city adjacent to Hong Kong, police arrested internet activist Wang Long on Monday for “creating a disturbance” after he posted online messages about the rallies in Hong Kong. He was still reportedly in detention on Wednesday.

Wang, 25, became the first Chinese citizen to directly challenge Chinese online censorship last month when he successfully filed a case against service provider China Unicom for restricting access to Google. The court's decision is pending.

As Occupy Central has escalated rallies against Beijing’s tight control of political reforms in the territory from 2017 onwards, authorities have maintained tight control of the narrative surrounding the biggest protests against the Communist Party in decades.

The Propaganda Department in Beijing recently issued instructions warning media agencies to “strictly manage” online comments sections and “remove harmful information”.

This week, the word “umbrella” has been mostly blocked on the Chinese micro-blogging site Sina Weibo, which has also taken tougher action against some users.

“My Weibo account is suspended. Expected this coming, sort of,” William Zheng Wei, chief editor of the South China Morning Post, which is considered anti-Beijing, posted on Twitter on Tuesday.

The authorities are “very fearful” that the Hong Kong protests will start to spread to the mainland, said Maya Wang, a Hong Kong-based China researcher for Human Rights Watch.

“That’s why they have been censoring the internet in an unprecedented degree in the past few days,” she told ucanews.com. “But so far there has been no sign that the protests will spread, except for a few shows of support from China’s brave activists.”

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