Chinese dissident Zhao Shiying detained by police

Zhao Shiying, the leader of a writers' group, has been detained by Chinese police since Monday, according to Radio Netherlands Worldwide.

No explanation has been given for his detention.

Two computers, his books and his notes, have been confiscated from his home, and his family have also been questioned.

Zhao is a signatory to Charter 08, which calls for political reform. Fellow signatories have been oppressed by the Chinese government.

You can view a summary of Charter 08 at Asia News.it or a full English translation by Human Rights In China.

Human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng "missing" after arrest:

Concern is also growing over the fate of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, who has been missing since February 2009. His family claim he was taken by the Chinese authorities from his home in Shaanxi province.

This week one of the arresting policemen told Gao's brother that he had "gone missing".

Gao has been detained before, and claimed that while imprisoned in 2007 his guards tortured him with electric batons, burned his eyes with cigarettes and threatened to kill him if he told anyone about this.

Amnesty International's Roseann Rife told the Guardian: "We have been very concerned since last February because there are reports in his own hand about how he was treated in custody last time, when it seemed he was near death."