Chinese authorities have detained a prominent Chinese civil rights activist in an escalation of Beijing's ongoing crackdown on non-governmental organisations.
Xu Zhiyong, a legal scholar and organiser of a legal help group that was shut down earlier this month, was taken away by a group of uniformed policemen and plainclothes officers from his residential compound early Wednesday, according to witnesses and colleagues of Mr Xu.
The detention follows a series of steps against NGOs and their organisers, especially people providing legal aid in cases seen as politically sensitive by the authorities. It comes as Beijing faces growing dissent and unrest just as it prepares to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China with celebrations on October 1.