Govt critics under fire in China crackdown

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BEIJING, Mar 31 (AFP): Rattled by Arab unrest and the growing power of the Internet, China has launched its harshest crackdown on dissent in years, which rights groups say has wiped out years of effort by bold activists. At least 25 activists have been criminally detained in the wake of the political upheaval that has rocked the Arab world and sparked calls for anti-government demonstrations in China, human rights organisations said. Scores of others have been put under house arrest or disappeared into police custody without charge, and the victims include prominent rights attorneys and bloggers who had otherwise been tolerated for years. "The situation for rights activists and critics of the government is grim, with many of the advances made by a generation of courageous activists being rolled back in a very short time," said Nicholas Bequelin, Asia researcher with Human Rights Watch.