Germany-based Chinese journalist’s family ‘detained at birthday banquet’ after he writes about politically sensitive disappearance of columnist
Deutsche Welle commentator Chang Ping says his parents and siblings were taken away in Sichuan and asked about an article he wrote about detained Beijing journalist Jia Jia
A Chinese journalist based in Germany says members of his family have been detained by police in China after he wrote a commentary about the highly politically sensitive disappearance of a Chinese columnist.
Chang Ping, a commentator at German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, said his parents, two brothers and a sister were taken away by the police in Sichuan province’s Xichong county on Sunday. They were attending a banquet for Chang’s father’s birthday.
His parents were released on Sunday afternoon, but his siblings were still in custody as of Monday, he said.
Police alleged the family had set off firecrackers and damaged the environment during tomb-sweeping activities, Chang said.
But during questioning, Chang’s family members were asked about an article he had written about the detained journalist Jia Jia, he said.