Scores of activists go to eastern Chinese city to demand probe of suspicious death

BEIJING – Scores of activists from around China have been converging on an eastern town during the Chinese New Year holiday to demand an investigation into the death of a fellow activist's father at a government building.

Activists are pointing to the outpouring as a sign of resilience in their movement despite a recent spate of court convictions cracking down on rallies by fellow members of loosely knit grassroots groups. They estimate 60 to 100 activists have gone to the Shandong province city of Qufu.

The gathering was triggered by the Jan. 29 death of Xue Fushun, the father of Xue Mingkai, a dissident who has been jailed twice for his opposition to China's one-party rule. He went to the prosecutors' office and fell to his death from the building's fourth floor.