Copyright 2004 Agence France Presse
Agence France Presse -- English
August 2, 2004 Monday 6:21 AM Eastern Time
SECTION: International News
LENGTH: 325 words
HEADLINE: China arrests US-based dissident: rights group
DATELINE: BEIJING, Aug 2
BODY:
China has arrested and charged a US-based dissident who disappeared while travelling in Myanmar, a human rights group said Monday.
Pro-democracy activist Peng Ming, who fled to the United States four years ago, was formally arrested on the charge of "attempting to kidnap" in Wuhan, capital of the central Chinese province of Hubei, according to the Washington-based Worldrights.
Peng was being held at Wuhan City Detention Centre No.2. but his lawyer has been denied access to him, according to a statement released by the group.
Officials at the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court said Monday they had not heard of Peng's case. Phone calls to the Wuhan City Detention Centre went unanswered.
In June, China's official Xinhua News Agency said Myanmar police turned over Peng and another Chinese citizen to Chinese authorities in May because they were found carrying "a huge sum of fake Chinese currency."
Xinhua said Chinese police later detained Peng on charges of possessing and using fake currency.
The group said that charge now "appeared to have been dropped."
Peng's sister, Peng Xing, said it was ironic that China "would facilitate, if not instigate, the abduction of my brother -- and then charge him -- its victim -- with kidnapping," according to the Worldrights' statement.
"China is the only real kidnapper," she was quoted as saying.
Peng was the founder of the banned China Development Union, an intellectual and environmental group.
He was also the leader of the China Federation Foundation, which was founded in the US in 2003 with the aim of replacing China's communist government with a democratic one.
He had spent 18 months in a labour camp for his pro-democracy activities in China before being released in August 2000.
Peng later fled China and moved to the US. Worldrights said he was a United Nations refugee and an applicant for permanent US residency.
vy/ph/mtp
China-dissident-rights
LOAD-DATE: August 2, 2004