Son of detained publisher Yiu Man-tin in plea to Xi Jinping
Follow example of your reform-minded father and free him, Yao Yongzhan tells Xi
The son of arrested Hong Kong book publisher Yiu Man-tin has invoked the name of President Xi Jinping's own reform-minded father in an appeal for his release.
In an open letter yesterday, Yao Yongzhan called on Xi to follow in the path of Communist Party revolutionary Xi Zhongxun and stop the "political persecution" of his father.
Yiu Man-tin, whose name is also spelled as Yao Wentian, has been held for nearly three months on a charge of "smuggling prohibited items".
Before his detention, Yiu was in discussions to publish a book by dissident writer Yu Jie, entitled .
"General Secretary Xi Jinping's father Xi Zhongxun was a compassionate and morally upright leader, a rare gem of a politician" Yiu wrote, in a reference to the younger Xi's title as party chief. "I hope that Xi can follow in his father's footsteps, accommodate dissenting voices in Hong Kong, and release my father."
Supporters of Yiu said this week he had been set up by a friend who asked him to deliver some industrial paint to his house in Shenzhen, where he was arrested.
