Chinese Science Blogger Detained After Aiding Cherry Growers’ Campaign

Dalian police have placed prominent Chinese science writer Hong Guangyu in criminal detention on suspicion of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” after he helped cherry growers pursue complaints over the deaths of their trees, according to a detention notice and people familiar with the matter.

Hong, a former reporter at Beijing Science and Technology Weekly and a prominent food-safety commentator, was taken from his home in Xiamen, in the southeastern province of Fujian, family members told Caixin. A detention notice said that the Zhongshan district branch of the Dalian Public Security Bureau criminally detained Hong on Sept. 19.