China critic silenced during live TV interview

Vocal critic Sun Wenguang had written an open letter to President Xi Jinping last month that criticised China's chequebook diplomacy in Africa, just as Xi embarked on a trip to the continent. [AFP]

A vocal critic of China's government has disappeared without a trace after security forces strong-armed their way into his home in the middle of a phone interview with a US-funded television network.

Retired academic Sun Wenguang, who is in his mid-80s, was speaking live to a Chinese-language TV show for Voice of America (VOA) when the authorities suddenly showed up.