China critic silenced during live TV interview

Beijing: A vocal critic of China’s government has disappeared without a trace after security forces strong-armed their way into his home in the middle of a phone interview with a US-funded television network.

Retired academic Sun Wenguang, who is in his mid-80s, was speaking live to a Chinese-language TV show for Voice of America (VOA) when the authorities suddenly showed up.

“The police are here to interrupt again,” Sun said from his home in Jinan in the eastern province of Shandong, counting as many as eight intruders as he spoke in an audio broadcast on Wednesday.

“It’s illegal for you to come to my home. I have my freedom of speech!” are the final words heard from Sun.

The dramatic recording highlights the increasing intensity of China’s efforts to silence critics of its policies as the ruling Communist Party aggressively nurtures a cult of personality around President Xi Jinping.

Sun had written an open letter to Xi last month that criticised China’s chequebook diplomacy in Africa, releasing it just as the leader embarked on a trip to the continent, according to VOA and online screenshots that could not be independently verified by AFP.

“Listen to what I say, is it wrong?” Sun asked the security detail in the recording.

“People are poor. Let’s not throw our money in Africa,” he said, telling the intruders that “throwing money like this is of no good to our country and society” before the line went dead.

Repeated calls yesterday to his mobile and home phone number went unanswered Friday, as did messages sent via social messaging app WeChat.