- The Chinese doctor who exposed Beijing's Sars cover-up
last year is undergoing "brainwashing sessions" in custody, according
to media reports.
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- Jiang Yanyong is being interrogated about his letter
denouncing the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, said sources quoted by
the Washington Post.
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- The authorities have said Mr Jiang, 72, will be held
until he "changes his thinking", the newspaper said.
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- Mr Jiang was detained on 1 June - days before the 15th
Tiananmen anniversary.
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- His wife, Hua Zhongwei, was also taken into custody and
went on hunger strike. She was released on 15 June and told not to speak
to reporters.
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- It is not uncommon for China to subject dissidents to
"re-education classes" to force them to develop a politically
correct mentality, analysts say.
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- 'Educating' Jiang
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- Mr Jiang - a doctor in China's People's Liberation Army
- is being held under 24-hour supervision at an undisclosed location, the
Washington Post said.
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- The authorities have threatened to keep him in custody
until he "raises his level of understanding" about the crackdown
on the student-led rallies for democracy on the Tiananmen Square, it said,
quoting one of the sources familiar with the situation.
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- Mr Jiang - whose February letter urged China's Communist
party to reconsider its treatment of the pro-democracy students - has reportedly
refused to back down.
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- He said he would continue to "face the problems
confronting me with the principle of seeking truth from facts," the
newspaper said, citing a person close to Mr Jiang's family.
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- In response to the Washington Post questions, the Chinese
government said in a statement: "Jiang Yanyong, as a soldier, recently
violated the relevant discipline of the military."
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- "Based on relevant regulations, the military has
been helping and educating him," the statement added.
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- Mr Jiang's family said they had not heard from him in
more than a month, apart from a single handwritten note, the UK's Times
newspaper reported.
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- "We are very concerned and have no idea when or
if he will come back," a family member told the newspaper.
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- Sars whistleblower
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- Mr Jiang became a hero to many Chinese after in March
2003 he exposed the real extent of the Sars (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)
epidemic by questioning official statements that had played down the crisis.
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- His actions led to the sacking of China's health minister
and of the Beijing mayor.
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- Despite the political stand-off with the government,
Mr Jiang soon became a celebrity.
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- And in an apparent U-turn later that year, his face appeared
on the front pages of state-run media who praised Mr Jiang's moral courage.
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- © BBC MMIV http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3869503.stm
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