Hu Jia goes on hunger strike to free himself from house arrest

Beijing-based human rights activist Hu Jia revealed on Twitter last night that his wife, Zeng Jinyan, and their daughter, Qianci, were able to leave the mainland on September 7 after having been denied permission to travel earlier this summer.

Zeng is now in Hong Kong where she will continue her studies.

Bad news for Hu, however. He wrote on Twitter the same day Zeng and Qianci left of being placed under house arrest during US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to his city September 4-5, and then attacked outside his home by domestic security police the following day, only to be ignored by local police when he called to report the incident.

Also on September 7, Hu began his own 24-hour hunger strike in support of protests in Hong Kong against national education.

After several days of relative silence, Hu has returned to Twitter to write that harassment has been stepped up - first the rear tires on his (non-Japanese) car were slashed on September 13, and then yesterday he says he was attacked again by domestic security police stationed outside his home who now won't let him leave even to go to the market to buy food.

And so he's back on hunger strike, which Hu says he won't give up until he regains his freedom.