Xu, 57, came to prominence in July 2018 for denouncing the removal of the two-term limit for China's leader.
Earlier this month, Xu was taken from his home in suburban Beijing by police, who searched his house and confiscated his computer, according to a text message circulated among Xu's friends and seen by Reuters. Police told his wife that he was being detained for allegedly soliciting prostitution during a trip to Chengdu, said his friends, who dismissed that allegation as character assassination.
At the peak of China's coronavirus outbreak in February, Xu wrote an article calling for freedom of speech. In May, he wrote an article accusing Xi of trying to bring the Cultural Revolution back to China.
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