A Chinese activist known for his outspoken criticism of the government is missing after police interrupted a radio interview live on air.
Professor Sun Wenguang was speaking to US broadcaster Voice of America on Wednesday when he said half a dozen police officers barged into his apartment in the eastern city of Jinan.
He was heard exclaiming "I have my freedom of speech" just before the line went dead.
VOA said Mr Sun had not responded to attempts to contact him, but that sources claimed he was being held in a military-run hotel in Jinan.
Mr Sun, an 84-year-old former professor of physics, has long been critical of China's communist leadership.
Most recently he protested against huge spending on development projects abroad at a time when many Chinese remain poor.
The comments were seen as a criticism of President Xi Jinping's signature "Belt and Road" initiative that has earmarked an estimated trillion dollars (£768 billion) for ports, power plants and other projects linking China to parts of Asia, Europe, Africa and beyond.
The initiative has recently run into headwinds as the countries involved appearing unwilling to accept the massive debts they stand to incur.
Before the line went dead, Mr Sun could be heard saying: "Throwing money around like this is of no benefit to our country and society."
He was also an early co-signer of Charter 08, a call for democratic reform whose co-author, Liu Xiaobo, won the Nobel Peace Prize but died last year while serving a sentence for subversion.
Mr Sun's views have brought official retribution ranging from a seven-year prison sentence to being denied a passport and having his pension cut.
