Chinese filmmaker Du Bin detained in Beijing before Taiwan book launch

Du is in custody at a detention centre in the capital, accused of ‘picking quarrels and provoking trouble’

Friends say he was in the process of publishing a study of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin’s experiments with communism

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Du Bin has been taken into custody in Beijing. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 10:20pm, 18 Dec 2020Updated: 12:50am, 19 Dec 2020

Chinese police have detained independent documentary filmmaker and writer Du Bin in Beijing, a month before the Taiwan release of his book on the rule of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin.

Friends of the 48-year-old former photojournalist said Du was being held at a detention centre in Daxing district, accused of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” – a catch-all charge police often used to stifle dissent.

His family had been warned not to speak to the media, the friends said.

Lawyer Wang Yu posted a message on Twitter saying Du was taken away by police on Wednesday.

Du formerly worked for The New York Times as a freelance photographer, but he was pressured by the Chinese authorities to stop in 2011.

He has since produced a number of well-known documentaries focusing on human rights violations and political events in China, and published several books on the Communist Party’s history.

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