Barred lawyer accused of stealing state secrets
Zheng Enchong was advising Shanghai residents opposed to urban clearance
A former Shanghai lawyer advising residents involved in relocation disputes with the local government and property developers has been accused of stealing state secrets.
In a statement carried in local newspapers, police said the authorities - who placed Zheng Enchong under 'administrative detention' on Friday - were now investigating the case. A police spokeswoman declined to give details. Sources said Mr Zheng was in contact with overseas media, a human rights group and foreign diplomats last week about the detention of hundreds of residents opposing urban clearance.
Mr Zheng was also advising on a recent lawsuit brought by six residents against property developer Chau Ching-ngai, alleging his flagship company corruptly obtained a piece of land in Shanghai's Jingan district.
Police detained Mr Chau more than a week ago for unspecified financial problems. State banks in Shanghai have frozen his companies' accounts and revealed he owes them 10 billion yuan (HK$9.4 billion). One of the six people involved in the residents' lawsuit said the detention might have been caused by Mr Zheng revealing the contents of documents supplied by the court, but added such documents should be open information.
Officials had informed the group their lawyer had been detained, but without offering other details.
Mr Zheng also provided information to a mainland newspaper, the 21st Century Business Herald, about the case, sources said.
But police denied any connection between Mr Zheng's detention and the disgraced property tycoon.
'Zheng Enchong's administrative detention is entirely because he is personally suspected of illegally obtaining state secrets, and other criminal activities,' the statement said.
Human rights groups say administrative detention allows police to hold suspects for long periods without bringing formal charges.
Mr Zheng has often represented residents forced to leave their homes for urban development projects in Shanghai.
Ahead of the sensitive June 4 anniversary of the 1989 suppression of pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square, more than a dozen police officers surrounded his home.
The government stripped Mr Zheng of his law licence in 2001.
