Whistle-blowing journalist arrested in Chongqing

A journalist turned whistle-blower working for Guangzhou-based New Express newspaper was taken away from his home by police on Friday, a month after he publicly accused a deputy director of the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) of gross dereliction of duty linked to his handling of state assets several years ago.

The wife of Liu Hu, a Chongqing-based reporter for New Express, told the South China Morning Post that over a dozen police officers came to their home in Chongqing on Friday morning and both her parents and her husband were interrogated for about an hour in separate rooms before Liu was handcuffed and led away by police.

Qin Ling, who was not at home when police raided their home, said that she was given no explanation over her husband’s custody and she has no idea of his location now. Qin was not aware if her husband had signed any documents.

“Some [police] officers claimed that they came from Beijing without showing their credentials, though they told my parents not to worry about it,” she said. “But how could I not worry as I don’t know where and how my husband is.”

She said that police also took away two computers including a laptop from their home without asking anyone to sign for them.