PROMINENT dissident and labour activist Liu Nianchun was detained yesterday, sparking fears the spate of arrests that started early this month would at least continue until the fifth anniversary of the June 4, 1989 crackdown.
A source close to the family of Liu, an unemployed worker and labour rights advocate in his 30s, said yesterday he was picked up for interrogation near his home in western Beijing.
''Two plain-clothes police and four uniformed police from the local police station took him away at about 5 pm today,'' the source said, adding that the police had invoked the ''summons and investigation'' rule to detain him.
Liu became the 18th dissident picked up for investigation in the last two weeks. Police released most activists after short periods in detention centres, but are still holding three of Liu's fellow labour rights activists for ''anti-government activities''.
Two weeks ago, Liu proposed the creation of a new organisation deemed frightening to the Communist Party - a quasi-union to protect labour's right to strike - and has taken his petition to the ongoing session of the NPC.
Sources in the dissident community said they feared other members of Liu's labour grouping might also be picked up by police in a ''pre-emptive strike''.