China Snatches Woman in Middle of Night Over Tweet

(Newser) – A young Chinese woman who tweeted that she planned to march with a banner honoring imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiabo has been busted by police. Mou Yanxi was snatched from her house in the middle of the night as authorities stepped up a crackdown on Liu's friends and supporters. "Reminder for those who want to send messages—be cautious," a friend of Mou's tweeted. Mou later returned home but authorities confiscated her phone and computer, reports the Guardian.

Fifteen Nobel peace laureates, including Jimmy Carter and the Dalai Lama, yesterday called on world leaders in a letter to pressure China to free Liu, 54, and to raise the issue at next month's G20 summit in Seoul. "We oppose any attempt to make an issue of this, and we oppose anyone infringing on China's judicial sovereignty in any way," responded a spokesman for China's foreign ministry. The Communist Party's official China People's Daily announced earlier this week that it's "unquestionable that Chinese people have freedom of expression and press." Liu is serving 11 years for incitement to subvert state power for co-authoring a document calling for reforms.