Police have confirmed that a prominent Chinese photographer who has been missing more than a month was arrested, his wife said.
Authorities informed relatives of award-winning photographer Lu Guang, whose work focuses unsparingly on the harshest realities of life in China, that he was arrested in Kashgar city in the country's far west region of Xinjiang, his wife Xu Xiaoli told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Xu, who lives in New York, said police contacted family members Wednesday. They have yet to receive a written notice with his charges, which are unclear.
Lu disappeared while travelling in Xinjiang on Nov. 3, according to Xu. He had connected with photographers in Urumqi, the capital, one week before and was scheduled to see a friend in Sichuan province on Nov. 5, but he never showed up for the meeting.
Lu won first prize in the prestigious World Press Photo contest for a series on poor Chinese villagers who became infected with HIV after selling their own blood to eke out a living.
His photos tackle gritty subjects like pollution and industrial environmental destruction — issues traditionally avoided by Chinese media because they risk punishment for exposing societal problems that the government may consider sensitive.
A stifling security apparatus has been imposed on Xinjiang in recent years as the government combats what it calls terrorist threats from the region's predominantly Muslim ethnic Uighur and Kazakh populations.
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Oakland Athletics left-hander Ken Waldichuk had reconstructive surgery on his troublesome pitching elbow and will be sidelined all season, another tough injury blow for the pitcher this past year.
Already on the 60-day injured list with a ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his pitching arm, he was examined by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday and it was determined he needed the procedure. Waldichuk suffered a setback in his rehab after facing hitters April 29.
The surgery performed by ElAttrache included a flexor tendon repair and a UCL reconstruction with internal brace procedure. Waldichuk will return to Oakland and his rehabilitation.
Waldichuk had been working his way back from an offseason procedure to remove scar tissue from his pitching elbow to help alleviate pain he experienced after his final start of the 2023 season.
Waldichuk pitched Sept. 29 on the road against the Los Angeles Angels and then began experiencing discomfort. He was later diagnosed with a flexor tendon strain and an ulnar collateral ligament sprain following an MRI exam.
He was first examined by Dr. Mike Freehill at Stanford and then also by ElAttrache. Waldichuk chose to go the conservative route for rehab and had a Tenex procedure with Dr. Steve Yoon on Oct. 17 to remove the scar tissue. He had a follow-up PRP injection to the flexor tendon on Oct. 24 and began physical therapy.
Waldichuk went 4-9 with a 5.36 ERA in 35 appearances and 22 starts with one save over 141 innings for the A’s in 2023, his first full big league season.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
FILE - Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Ken Waldichuk delivers during the first inning of the team's baseball game against the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 24, 2023, in Chicago. Waldichuk had reconstructive surgery on his troublesome pitching elbow and will be sidelined all season, another tough injury blow for the pitcher this past year. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast, File)
