Renowned labor activist, Zhang Zhiru, has gone missing for over 24 hours after helping organize the workers' strike at an Adidas and Nike factory in the Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings. His wife, Xiao Hongxia, suspects that state security officials had detained him.

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Zhang had last contacted his wife via phone on noon Tuesday. He told Xiao he had been summoned by the Dongguan state security for a meeting with their agents.

Workers of the Yue Yuen factory have gone on strike on April 14, over unpaid insurance benefits. The factory employs around 40,000 workers. The strike, which was held in Gaobu, outside Dongguan, is one of the biggest strikes in the history of China since the 1970's period of reform.

Xiao was cited by The Guardian relating the last time she spoke with her husband. She said Zhang told her in the morning that he was going to meet with the Dongguan state security. When he did not come home by yesterday night, they tried to contact him, but to no avail. On Wednesday, Reuters tried to call him but his phone seemed to be off.

A call to the state security's Dongguan branch was answered by a man with the surname Wang. The latter denied hearing anything about the missing activist's possible detention.

Zhang had been closely monitoring the Yue Yuen strike, and was cooperating with other activists and lawyers in an effort to help the factory workers present their demands. Last week, Zhang told Reuters that he attempted to go to Gaobu to meet with some workers, but the police detained him for a while before sending him home to Shenzhen.

On Monday, Zhang finally went to Gaobu together with a lawyer involved in labor cases, according to Chinese labor researcher Wang Jiangsong. The two of them met with some Yue Yuen workers to talk about their strategies for the strike.