BEIJING, Nov 21 (Reuter) - China on Tuesday formally arrested its most prominent dissident and father of its embattled democracy movement, Wei Jingsheng, on the capital charge of trying to overthrow the government.
Wei, 46, a veteran of China's prisons and 1995 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, was charged after Beijing city police found evidence he was allegedly involved in activities aimed at toppling the communist state, Xinhua news agency said.
``An investigation by Beijing's municipal public security departments showed Wei had conducted activities in (an) attempt to overthrow the government after his release on parole,'' the official agency said.
The brief announcement was the first official word in 20 months on the whereabouts of Wei, who disappeared into police custody on April 1, 1994, after a meeting with a senior U.S. human rights official.
He has been held incommunicado ever since, with no notice given to his family or the numerous foreign leaders who have inquired about his status.
``His actions were in violation of the criminal law and constituted crimes,'' Xinhua said.
Conviction on the charge, virtually assured in China's justice system, could be punishable by death.
Wei was released on parole in September, 1993, after serving 14 years of a 15-year prison term for selling military secrets and ``counter-revolutionary'' crimes, or subversion.
During his six months of freedom, Wei said he had no regrets about taking a public stand and frequently and openly attacked the government.
Police cordoned off his home in Beijing, but members of his family contacted by telephone dismissed the new charges as absurd, questioning how one man could overthrow the Communist Party while under constant police surveillance.
``What evidence is there?'' one relative who asked not to be identified said. ``It's a frame-up.
``Such a big country, such a big party and yet they cannot tolerate one or two words of criticism. They're too fragile.''
Xinhua said police formally arrested the former Beijing zoo electrician after sufficient evidence had been obtained by police and with the approval of the Beijing Municipal People's Procuratorate.
``If he did actually attempt to overthrow the government, who were his accomplices? It would be crazy for one person to try singlehandedly to overthrow the government,'' the relative said.
It is the second time Wei has faced the capital charge of counter-revolution.
Wei's first arrest in 1979 stemmed from his criticism of the communist government and paramount leader Deng Xiaoping during the tumultuous Democracy Wall period in the late 1970s.
Wei had been one of Chairman Mao Tse-tung's revolutionary Red Guards in the ultra-leftist 1966-76 Cultural Revolution.
He turned against the Communist Party and publicly demanded what he called the ``fifth modernisation'' -- Western-style democracy -- adding a new twist to Deng's Four Modernisations drive.
The arrest came as China's Foreign Ministry said it was willing to resume a human rights dialogue with the United States, although it demanded Washington stop what it called interference in its internal affairs.
The two sides discussed the possibility of resuming the dialogue at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Osaka, Japan, last week.