Writer Liao Yiwu was prevented from leaving the country and put under house arrest as he prepared to leave for a literary festival in Germany. From the New York Times:
It was the 13th time Mr. Liao had been prevented from leaving the country. The Associated Press reported that he had been placed under house arrest after being questioned by security agents for four hours.
“How can this happen?” The A.P. quoted him as saying. “It’s a cultural event, nothing political. Such drama!”
Telephone calls on Tuesday to Mr. Liao’s home in rural Chengdu produced a recording saying that the line was temporarily unavailable. Calls to his cellphone went unanswered.
Mr. Liao was removed from a plane at Chengdu’s airport as he prepared to fly to Germany to attend lit.Cologne, one of Europe’s largest literary festivals, where he was to read from one of his books, “Miss Hello and the Farm Emperor: Chinese Society From the Bottom.”
China’s immigration policies for political dissidents were brought to international attention with the protest by Feng Zhenghu, who spent three months int he Tokyo airport after being denied permission to return home to Shanghai.
