The incident took place on Wednesday at a time when Sun was in the middle of his interview with the Mandarin arm of American-funded broadcaster Voice of America (VOA).

The critic, who has been very vocal about the Chinese government, especially against Xi Jinping, over the removal of his presidential term limit, is believed to have been taken by police from his residence.

VOA's team said that following the episode, they couldn't track the 84-year-old Sun.

According to the interview recording, Sun's last spoken words were: "I have my freedom of speech."

It is assumed that he was saying it to the police who entered his property without prior notice and ended the broadcast abruptly.

Over the years, Sun has been critical of China's investment in foreign countries.

According to him, Beijing's investment was farcical, when most of China reeled under poverty.

China has invested a lot in African countries and is presently building an economic corridor, in conjunction with Pakistan.

"People [in China] are poor. Let's not throw our money in Africa. Throwing money like this is of no good to our country," he told VOA.

Sun, however, is not stranger to prison timings. In the past, he has been in and out of prison for riling Beijing.

Presently, he is without passport as the service has been denied to him by the country's government, as a result rendering his attempts to leave the country futile.

Image: Screengrab from YouTube