A Chinese man has been held after he took a series of controversial selfies in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Du Yanlin, 52, posted several images of himself on Twitter on 4 June, the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown against pro-democracy activists in which hundreds died.
In one of the images he is seen issuing a single-fingered gesture in front of the mausoleum of Chairman Mao, Communist China's founder.
Du Yanlin, 52, posted several images of himself on Twitter on 4 June, the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown against pro-democracy activists in which hundreds died.
In one of the images he is seen issuing a single-fingered gesture in front of the mausoleum of Chairman Mao, Communist China's founder.
Tiananmen Square is the most sensitive public place in China. Throughout the year, it has a huge security presence with visitors undergoing airport-style security checks before they enter.
A lot of police, uniformed and plain-clothed, monitor visitors movements, helped by a web of CCTV cameras. Sitting down in the square is not permitted.
The square is especially sensitive on 4 June. The Chinese government denies that a massacre took place in 1989 and any attempts to commemorate the events of that year are prohibited.
According to Mr Du's Twitter feed, @duyanlin , he spent some time in the square on 4 June before being detained. His first tweet that morning read: "Preparing to go out into the square to take a look."
This was followed by a tweet which said: "I am wearing black striped shirt, a black pair of trousers, black underwear, black socks, holding a black umbrella going to the square. Is that black enough?"
Some, showing groups of visiting tourists, were accompanied by captions which read: "Stupid tourist groups", "Stupid foreign tourist groups", "More stupid tourist groups" – an apparent inference that the tourists didn't know the significance of the day.
"It's so difficult to find anyone on the square who is not stupid" another caption read, followed by one showing some Chinese students with the caption: "Students being brainwashed."
Mr Du, who once worked as a tax adviser for Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, described how he asked a young man, also wearing black, to take a photo of him, but the man refused.
"He was cordial at the beginning but then I asked him to take a photograph of my middle finger. He said: 'Oh, forget it.'" Mr Du wrote.
Among the final photographs taken by Mr Du, one shows a woman wearing a long black coat. The caption reads: "This is my only comfort today."
"It's so difficult to find anyone on the square who is not stupid" another caption read, followed by one showing some Chinese students with the caption: "Students being brainwashed."
Mr Du, who once worked as a tax adviser for Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, described how he asked a young man, also wearing black, to take a photo of him, but the man refused.
"He was cordial at the beginning but then I asked him to take a photograph of my middle finger. He said: 'Oh, forget it.'" Mr Du wrote.
Among the final photographs taken by Mr Du, one shows a woman wearing a long black coat. The caption reads: "This is my only comfort today."
Check Photo below:
It is understood that Mr Du was detained by police in the square shortly afterwards.
Human rights lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan told Sky News that Mr Du is now being held at the Dongcheng District Detention Centre.
According to the lawyer, Mr Du is being held for "picking quarrels and stirring up trouble”, a catch-all charge increasingly used to detain lawyers, activists, journalists and academics .
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