"Chinese human rights activist arrested", 18 Dec 2017

A human rights activist has been arrested in China after protesting over Linfen Thermal Power Co., a Chinese state-owned company, [for] illegally charging local households for installing devices that can receive natural gas for heating, according to reports on social media. Some 1,000 residents in Linfen, a city in northern China's Shanxi Province, lodged protests in the city after receiving the news.

Chang Jiaxuan (常珈瑄), a resident of Linfen, released a video clip on his twitter account last Friday in which he said that after he divulged the state-owned power company's illegal action, the Chinese authorities threatened to have him arrested…Chang's…sister reported through social media that he was arrested Dec. 16 for interfering in public affairs and urged the public to call media outlets' attention to the case…

Chang said it can cost each household between 5,000 Chinese yuan (US$755)-30,000 Chinese yuan for installing the devices… to heat the premises using natural gas…[D]ue to their inability to afford the high fees for natural gas and electricity for heating, hundreds of people gathered outside the city hall in a protest during a snowy night Dec. 13, shouting: "Freezing without heaters!"