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Missing activist involved in anti-Japan rallies in Hong Kong may be in Macau

Family says Wu Chengfang disappeared after visit to HK to co-ordinate anti-Japanese protest

The family of a missing mainland activist is seeking help to look for her in Macau and Shenzhen, after she vanished after a visit to Hong Kong 2-1/2 weeks ago to co-ordinate an anti-Japan protest.

Wu Chengfang , 43, disappeared on the way back to Shenzhen on the night of September 12 after a Hong Kong meeting with activists who had sailed to the disputed Diaoyu Islands, which Japan calls the Senkakus.

Wu's husband, Yan Zhijia , and a mainland rights group said they had heard from sources in the Shenzhen police that mainland police and security personnel - acting on an arrest warrant issued by Macau - had caught her. They said they heard variously that she had been taken to Macau and was held there, or was still in Shenzhen.

"It has been more than [two weeks] and we have not heard from her," Yan said. "Her phone could not be reached after September 12."

Yan said he had asked her son, who was studying in Macau, and Macau lawmakers to locate her. Yan said he was unable to visit Macau himself because his visa was under lock and key at home and the key was kept by Wu.

Wu, who is a resident of both Zhuhai and Macau, in 2009 received a prison sentence of three years and three months in the former Portuguese enclave for deception in a 2005 business dispute with a former boyfriend. The ruling forced her withdrawal from a Macau Legislative Council election in what was seen as a politically motivated move targeted at democratic candidates.

But Wu did not serve the jail term, according to her political associates.

Liu Weiping , chairman of the People's Rights Union of China, of which Wu is a member, said he believed the Macau authorities wanted her to serve the jail term.

Liu suspected a political motive because of the timing of her capture.

He said Wu had travelled across the border many times in the past few months. He queried why the arrest happened just as she was lining up 10 to 20 mainlanders to take part in an anti-Japanese march in Hong Kong on September 16, which attracted up to 5,000 people.

"Being patriotic is like being a thief," he said. "We need to be patriotic covertly. The mainland situation is worrying."

In 2005, Wu's then boyfriend accused her of cheating him of 270,000 Macau patacas. He later told her he would not pursue the matter.

But in 2009, the court sentenced Wu without summoning her to stand trial or informing her of the outcome. The verdict was leaked on the internet in July that year, when Wu was teaming up with Au Kam-san, now a pan-democratic lawmaker, to run for Legco seats.

Au said he had not heard from Wu since she quit his party, the New Macau Association, following the conviction, and did not know if she was jailed in Macau. He said the Macau government would make a public announcement if it extradited people from other places.

A spokesman for the Macau judiciary police said it would not comment on cases under investigation. Shenzhen police did not reply to inquiries.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Missing activist may be in Macau
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