A blind Chinese activist who exposed abuses in Beijing's population control policy was beaten unconscious by dozens of men led by a communist party official, his wife said in a letter released Thursday.

Human rights groups earlier reported an attack on activist Chen Guangcheng in February, but the account from his wife -- who said she was also severely abused and remains under house arrest -- offered graphic new details.

Wife Yuan Weijing said that 70 to 80 men stormed their home in February. She said around 10 beat her husband for more than two hours while the others trashed the place, taking away a computer, video-camera and even flashlights.

"Some of them twisted his arms forcefully while the others were pushing his head down and lifting his collar up tightly. Given his poor health condition of long-time diarrhea, Guangcheng was not able to resist and passed out after more than two hours of torture," she wrote.

The letter was released by ChinaAid, a US-based rights group. It said it received the letter on Wednesday.

Yuan said the couple was not allowed medical treatment. She said she was covered with a blanket and beaten, which she believed caused her broken ribs. She said she could not see for five to six days and still cannot stand up straight.

Yuan said that the assailants were led by a local communist party vice secretary and included policemen, although they did not wear uniforms or show legal documents.

Yuan said that authorities have stepped up pressure on them since the beating, with their five-year-old daughter also under house arrest and Chen's mother followed constantly by three men.

Previous attempts to verify the couple's condition independently were unsuccessful. Reporters from Western news organizations said they were roughed up in February when they tried to reach Chen's home in the city of Linyi.

Chen, a self-taught lawyer blind since childhood, served more than four years in prison after he exposed widespread late-term abortions and forced sterilizations under China's policy of restricting most families to one child.

He was released in September and put under house arrest. He later made a daring video, also released by ChinaAid, in which he said police threatened to beat him or throw him back in jail if he spoke up.

earlier related report
China pledges aid to Mongolia
Beijing (AFP) June 16, 2011 - China pledged Thursday to help resource-rich Mongolia develop its economy, offering visiting Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold a $500 million loan and support for the key mining and energy sectors.

On a three-day visit to Beijing, Batbold met with Premier Wen Jiabao and also discussed joint infrastructure projects while overseeing the signing of a raft of agreements, including the loan.

"China is willing to unify planning and coordination with Mongolia on pushing forward mining, energy, infrastructure and other big projects," China Central Television quoted Wen as telling Batbold in talks.

"China is willing to provide assistance within its means to help Mongolia raise its energy and environmental protection capacity and push forward the development of its national industry."

Wen further urged Batbold to work with China to fight terrorism, separatism and cross-border crime and that the two nations should jointly cooperate to maintain stability along their long common border.

It was unclear if the two leaders discussed recent unrest in Chinese-ruled Inner Mongolia -- which lies south of Mongolia -- where thousands of ethnic Mongols protested over alleged encroachment by Chinese mining concerns in the region's traditional grasslands.

"I believe that your visit this time can take the bilateral relationship to a new high," Wen said.

On Wednesday, Batbold met with Chinese parliamentary chief Wu Bangguo and he will hold talks with Vice President Xi Jinping on Friday.

Batbold earlier told reporters that Mongolia and China should pay more attention to their bilateral trade structure, noting Mongolia's exports to China mainly consist of heavy raw materials, which have environmental costs.

He also said Mongolian companies had started to invest in China, and that Ulan Bator hoped Beijing would support these firms, Dow Jones Newswires said.

Mongolia is opening up its resources to foreign investors in the hope the nascent mining industry -- and the deep-pocketed firms interested in it -- can help pull thousands of people out of poverty.

Ulan Bator has shortlisted several major foreign firms to develop part of the Tavan Tolgoi mine, one of the world's largest coal fields with 6.4 billion tonnes of reserves located 270 kilometres (165 miles) from the Chinese border.

US coal miner Peabody Energy, Brazil's Vale and steel giant ArcelorMittal are among six preferred bidders to develop the western portion of the mine's Tsenkhi block, which contains mostly coking coal -- a key ingredient for steel production.

The others in contention are Anglo-Swiss group Xstrata, a joint venture between China's Shenhua and Japan's Mitsui, and a consortium of Russian, South Korean and Japanese companies.

The results of the bidding are expected to be announced later this year.

Tweet

Related Links China News from SinoDaily.com