Zhao Mourners Beaten Up

28/01/2005| IslamWeb

China has detained dozens of people, some of whom have been severely beaten, for trying to mark the death of former leader Zhao Ziyang, witnesses said yesterday. The allegations came as the government intensified security to prevent mourners attending tomorrow's funeral in Beijing for Zhao, the former Communist Party secretary general purged for opposing the 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen democracy movement.

One man was beaten bloody and two others, including a woman in her 70s, were punched and manhandled by police last week outside government offices which receive complaints in Beijing's Yongdingmen district, witnesses said.

They were among some 60 people who pinned white paper flowers to their clothes, a traditional Chinese symbol of mourning, said a bystander who took pictures of the beatings and posted them on overseas websites.

One picture showed the Henan province man, Wang Shiyuan's face covered with blood, with one eyeball bulging out and the other eye badly bruised. Wang's daughter confirmed the beating, saying her father, who could not immediately be reached, told her he was physically attacked by police.

"An elderly woman from Shandong province was beaten to a point where she couldn't move and a man from Hunan province was also beaten," said the witness.

Police shouted that Zhao, who spent nearly 16 years under house arrest until his death on January 17 at the age of 85, was a "political criminal."

Earlier, his family and the government announced the date for his funeral tomorrow.

"It's happening on the 29th, that's true," said a family member.

The State Council Information Office confirmed the funeral would be held at 9am at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in western Beijing but stopped short of saying which officials would attend.

PHOTO CAPTION

One man was beaten bloody and two others, including a woman in her 70s.