Chinese authorities have arrested a prominent rights activist and legal scholar who had called on President Xi Jinping to step down over his handling of crises including the coronavirus outbreak, two fellow activists said on Monday. Xu Zhiyong had been on the run since December after attending a gathering in the southern city of Xiamen which focused on discussion of human rights in China, according to Hua Ze, an activist and friend of Xu’s. Four others who had attended the gathering in December were arrested previously, Hua told Reuters. Xu was arrested on Saturday night by the Beijing police with assistance by police in Guangzhou, Hua said.
