Melamine-tainted-milk activist Zhao Lianhai , who was taken away by police on Wednesday night for questioning, said yesterday they threatened to throw him back in jail if he continued to speak out about the treatment of dissidents.
Meanwhile, as condemnation mounts over the detention of artist-activist Ai Weiwei , Beijing warned foreign countries they had 'no right to interfere'.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a news conference: 'Ai Weiwei is under investigation on suspicion of economic crimes. It has nothing to do with human rights or freedom of expression.' It was China's first official comment on Ai's case.
Zhao (pictured), who broke his public silence on Tuesday to comment on Ai's detention at the capital's airport as he was about to board a flight for Hong Kong, said he appealed for the artist's release when he was questioned by four Beijing police officers.
'I told them that if they are stepping up the crackdown [on dissidents], they can start with me,' he said. They responded by saying he would go back to prison if he 'continued to do what you are doing now'.
Zhao, 38, said if that happened he would go on hunger strike and was prepared to die. He said he tried to reason with the police, asking them to examine the tense situation between the authorities and the dissidents with a level-headed attitude.