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China Arrests Democracy Advocate Yang Hengjun Following Flight From New York

Friends say they're worried for the safety of the Chinese-Australian writer and former diplomat whose push for political change earned him the nickname "the democracy peddler."
China has arrested Yang Hengjun, an author and former Chinese diplomat who is now an Australian citizen. He's seen here in a 2014 photo on social media that was taken during a visit to Tibet.

Updated at 9:42 a.m. ET

Chinese-Australian writer and former diplomat Yang Hengjun has been detained by Chinese authorities, according to the Australian Embassy in Beijing. Friends of Yang say he was taken into custody immediately after flying from New York to China on Saturday, and since then, the democracy advocate's has fallen silent.

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