Chinese artist Ai Weiwei released after ‘confessing crimes’
Ai said his health was fine as he thanked reporters outside his studio last night. But he said under the conditions of his release he was unable to say any more.
Hundreds of Chinese lawyers, activists and other intellectuals have disappeared or been questioned or detained by authorities in the ongoing clampdown, and those released have almost universally kept silent, possibly fearing repercussions.
The three-paragraph Xinhua News Agency report last night said Ai was released because of his poor health and because he had shown a “good attitude in confessing his crimes” and pledged to pay taxes that he owed.
Xinhua repeated earlier allegations in state media that a company linked to Ai, Beijing Fake Cultural Development, had evaded a “huge amount” of taxes and intentionally destroyed accounting documents.
Formal charges against him have never been announced, and the state media report did not mention any pending charges or trial.
Ai’s family and supporters have previously dismissed the tax evasion accusations. His wife said the company in question is registered and belongs to her, not him. The company handles the business aspects of Ai’s art career.
Ai is among China’s most internationally known artists and had a hand in designing Beijing’s iconic Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium before souring on the event. His fame has soared in recent years, both for his groundbreaking art and his irreverence toward authority.
Ai’s detention at Beijing’s airport on April 3 made him the most famous victim of a sweeping crackdown against dissent in China that began in February when online calls for protests similar to those in the Middle East and North Africa began to circulate.
Ai had been keeping an informal tally of the detentions on Twitter.
Ai was held under a form of detention known as residential surveillance outside Beijing. Lu, his wife, was permitted one brief, monitored meeting in which she said he seemed well cared for.
Ai suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes. He told Lu during her May visit that he was taking long walks everyday, had his blood pressure checked seven times a day, and was eating and sleeping well.
Ai’s detention prompted an international outcry among artists, politicians and human rights activists, and Western leaders called it a sign of China’s deteriorating human rights situation. His supporters said he was being punished for speaking out about the Communist leadership.
