Yesterday's International Children's Day was a traumatic one for milk activist Zhao Lianhai's young son and daughter.
His family was followed by dozens of police everywhere they went. They were trapped inside a supermarket restaurant for more than four hours, and saw the electricity to their flat cut in the evening to prevent Zhao from publicising what was happening to them.
The couple's two children, five-year-old Pengrun, who was made ill in 2008 by melamine-tainted milk powder, and two-year-old Sian, were forced to watch police argue with their parents throughout the day. Zhao said officers tried to pull his children away from them.
Zhao, organiser of the parent advocacy group Jieshibaobao (kidney stone kids), was sentenced to 21/2 years in prison in November for 'provoking quarrels and making trouble', but he was subsequently released on medical parole, which normally allows the defendant freedom of movement, subject to regular reports to the local police.
However, Zhao has pretty much been restricted to his home in Daxing district of Beijing. On Monday, he said, his family tried to move furniture out so the flat could be repainted, but they were prohibited from doing so.
Zhao was taken away by police for 12 hours last week after he tried to enter the headquarters of the China Dairy Industry Association.