Chinese dissident Xiang Nanfu
"A Beijing man who supplied information to a dissident-run U.S.-based news website has been detained on charges he made up stories that disparaged the Chinese government, police announced Tuesday. Xiang Nanfu was accused of providing false stories to Boxun.com of organ harvesting and live burials by the Chinese government, according to a police statement. It said Xiang worked with Boxun.com to incite public dissatisfaction against the government. Boxun.com, founded in 2000 and based in New York City, is known for publicizing allegations of high-level Chinese corruption and human rights abuses. Access to the site is blocked in China. Xiang, 62, was detained under a law against troublemaking, according to the police statement. Violators usually are punished with fines, but the law also allows a prison sentence of up to five years. Xiang was shown on the national state television noon newscast confessing and expressing contrition. 'I have made up things that are not facts,' said Xiang, who was shown wearing the green vest of a jail inmate. 'My behavior has had a very bad impact. I realize that I have smeared the ruling party and the government.' The founder of Boxun.com, Watson Meng, denied the site had reported that organ harvesting or live burials occurred. But he said an April report described petitioners who made such allegations in front of the Beijing office of the United Nations. 'The authorities could have used some means to extort the public confession, although we do not know what means they have used,' Meng said by phone from New York. Meng said that Xiang had backed up his reports with photos and video footage and called him trustworthy."