China Detains Kin of 2 Likely Nobel Contenders

BEIJING — Chinese police on Friday detained relatives of two Chinese dissidents, Wang Dan and Wei Jingsheng, who were rumored to be Nobel Peace Prize contenders.

As the world awaited the announcement of the 1999 award--which went to Doctors Without Borders--police forced their way into the home of Wang’s parents.

Wang’s mother, Lingyun, was taken away about half an hour before the prize was announced, according to Cheuk Kwan, a spokesman for Wang Dan in Boston.

Reached by telephone Friday evening, Wang’s mother said, “It’s past now,” and declined to say much more. She said police had left her apartment but were probably still downstairs.

Kwan said police also had detained Wei’s brother, Yaotao.

The prize would have drawn unwelcome international attention to the untold numbers of political and religious dissidents who languish in Chinese prisons and labor camps or have gone into exile because they dared to speak out. The Communist Party leadership has sought to squelch all dissent that might clash with the celebratory atmosphere surrounding festivities marking the 50th anniversary of the Oct. 1, 1949, founding of the People’s Republic.

Wei, 49, and Wang, 30, spent almost their entire adult lives in jail for daring to speak out on behalf of freedom and democracy and then were released on medical parole and forced into exile.

In exile in the United States, both dissidents have continued to promote democratic reforms and lobby on behalf of those still imprisoned back home.