An outspoken Chinese writer and government critic says he has been blocked from leaving the country to participate in Europe's largest international literary festival in Cologne.

Liao Yiwu, 52, said he was already on the plane in the southwestern city of Chengdu on Monday (1.3.2010) when a flight attendant told him people were looking for him. "A large group of people were waiting at the entrance," Mr Liao said from his home, where he said he was now under house arrest. Mr Liao said he was taken to a police station where state security agents questioned him for about four hours on why he wanted to speak at Cologne's international literary festival. "How can this happen?" Mr Liao said. "It's a cultural event, nothing political. Such drama!"