Former Shandong University physics professor has criticized China's foreign investment policy and Xi Jinping's claim to be president for life. Sun is a signatory of Charter 08, the manifesto for China's social and political reform.
Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Sun Wenguang, a retired academic, often a critic of government policy, was arrested by the police while giving an interview to the Voice of America (Voa) channel in his city of Jinan. His last words were: "I have my freedom of speech!". Then the broadcast was stopped.
The arrest happened three days ago and since then nobody knows what has happened to him.
Sun, 84, was a professor of physics at Shandong University. Recently he had written an open letter to President Xi Jinping, criticizing his decision to distribute money, aid, loans abroad, instead of focusing on the poverty present in China. The interview with VOA was precisely on the subject of Beijing's foreign investments.
VOA has spread the interview in Chinese via Twitter. In it you hear voices in the background and then that of Prof. Sun who says: "Here they are again: seven, eight of them". Then, addressing the newcomers [the policemen], he says: "What, did I say anything wrong? Listen to what I say, is it wrong?"
He goes on again to explain his criticism of China's foreign investments: "People [in China] are poor. Let's not throw our money in Africa. Throwing money like this is of no good to our country."
At a certain point, Prof. Sun shouts: "What are you doing? It's illegal for you to come to my home. I have my freedom of speech."
The line then abruptly goes dead.
Sun Wenguang spent more than 10 years in prison at various times from 1960 to 1980, for criticizing Mao Zedong. He is also one of the signatories, along with Liu Xiaobo, of the Charter 08 manifesto for China's political and social reform.
In 2009, he was beaten while visiting the tomb of Zhao Ziyang, the Communist Party secretary who was expelled for opposing the Tiananmen massacre.
In recent months, in his open letter to Xi, he had criticized the change in the Chinese constitution that allows the president to hold his office for life.