Published by: World Tibet Network News, Tuesday, October 8, 1996

BEIJING, Oct 8 (AFP) - Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was detained by police here Tuesday morning, dissident sources said, one week after he called on the Chinese government to start talks with Tibet's exiled leader, the Dalai Lama.

Liu, 40 (eds: correct), was taken from his home at around 8:00 a.m. (2400 GMT) by public security personnel, the sources said, citing Liu's wife, Liu Xia.

Liu, a former history professor at Beijing University, and Wang Xizhe, a veteran pro-democracy activist from Guangzhou, wrote an open letter last week urging the government to grant Tibetans the right of self-determination.

Wang's wife, Xu Jiang, said by telephone from Guangzhou that her husband was still free, although he had been repeatedly followed by security personnel.

"If Liu has been arrested I'm worried that means my husband will be next," Xu said. The two activists' letter also called for stronger legal controls over the Communist Party, talks between Beijing and nationalist rival Taiwan, and firmer action by China in its dispute with Japan over an island chain in the East China Sea.

However, the reference to Tibetan self-determination was the most daring, as the subject is generally considered taboo even among dissident circles.

Liu and Wang accused the government of reneging on pledges before the communists came to power in 1949 that the country's ethnic minorities had the right to self-determination.

"We urge the Chinese Communist Party to recognise their earlier position and advance enlightened policies on the right of self-determination," the letter said.

They also called on the government to open talks with the Dalai Lama, who has been the focus of vicious verbal attacks from Beijing.