While activists initially believed them held temporarily ahead of the politically senstive anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre on June 4, Zhui was later held under criminal detention on suspicion of "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble," a charge commonly used to target peaceful critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. His family were informed by the authorities at the Nanjing No. 3 Detention Center of his transfer from to a critical care facility at a hospital in the city, his wife Liu Lijiao told RFA on Tuesday.
Liu said Zhui's father had received notification on Aug. 21 that his son was critically ill after refusing food in detention. She said details of how Zhui had gotten so sick are currently vague.
