China ‘rounds up dissidents’ relatives’

BEIJING: Chinese authorities have detained the relatives of several dissidents living abroad, they said, as part of a widening crackdown following the publication of a letter critical of President Xi Jinping.

Germany-based journalist Chang Ping said local authorities in the southwestern province of Sichuan had detained his two younger brothers and a younger sister in connection with suspicions that he had been involved in writing an anonymous letter calling on Xi to step down for the good of the country.