Beijing: Chinese police have detained an activistagitating for officials to disclose their assets on subversion charges, herlawyer said on Wednesday, underscoring the limits of an anti-corruption push byChinese President Xi Jinping.
Xi, who became Communist Party chief in November andpresident in March, has called for a crackdown on graft, warning, as many havebefore him, that the problem is so severe it could threaten the party'ssurvival.
But China has detained at least 10 activists who have led acampaign for officials to publicly disclose their wealth - the firstcoordinated crackdown by the new government on activists, according to MayaWang, a researcher with the Asia division at Human Rights Watch.
The detention of Liu Ping, 48, makes her the first person tobe singled out by the government for pressuring officials on their wealth.
Police from Xinyu, in the southern province of Jiangxi,detained Liu for "inciting subversion of state power", her lawyer,Zheng Jianwei, told Reuters, by telephone. The charge is often levelled againstcritics of the party.
Police could not be reached for comment.
Liu, who has also advocated on women's rights issues, lastyear started demanding that officials disclose their assets, Zheng said. Shetook her campaign to the internet and to fellow Chinese.
Zheng said he did not know the exact reason for Liu'sdetention, but added that he had warned her "to be aware of heractions" six months ago.
"I felt that her profile was too high, I thought sheshould quieten her heart and just carry out very basic activities for citizens'rights and the law," Zheng said. "But Liu Ping is a person who can'tbe idle."
Xi's ascendancy in a once-in-a-decade generationalleadership transition had given many Chinese hope for political reform,spurring citizens to push officials to disclose their wealth in severalmovements throughout the country.
Xu Zhiyong, the founder of one such movement, told Reutershe was being held under house arrest and that "it could be due to hiscampaign to push for asset disclosure".
Wang of Human Rights Watch said the detentions of theanti-corruption activists appeared to be part of a coordinated campaign to haltpublic calls for fighting corruption.
"How can calling for anti-graft measures be acrime?" Wang said. "Liu Ping's detention makes Xi Jinping's statedpolicy goal to fight graft seem like tiresome, broken rhetoric."
© Thomson Reuters 2013