Ai Weiwei’s Status Still Unknown; Studio Occupied by Police [LIVEBLOG]

On Sunday morning Beijing time, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was arrested and detained at the airport on his way to Hong Kong. We haven’t heard from the artist since. Ai’s studio remains occupied by police forces though the larger neighborhood of Caochangdi is unaffected at present. Studio assistants, including foreigners, are being questioned by the police. This post will be live updated.

Police raided Ai’s studio shortly after arresting the artist. The police had come several times in previous weeks ostensibly to check on the visa status of foreigners employed in the studio. Ai’s assistants, both foreign and Chinese, were questioned by police, who remain guarding the studio at present. Sources inside Beijing report that police continue to question studio workers and those affiliated with Ai.

Electricity in the studio is still shut off, internet is reportedly out (as of 12:30 AM EST) in the neighborhood of Caochangdi, where Ai’s studio is located, and Ai’s name and news of the arrest is being at least partially censored from Weibo [not entirely true, see below], the Chinese version of Twitter.

Ai’s wife Lu Qing was detained at the artist’s home and studio by the police as well, but was released several hours later. Reports on Twitter note that the police told Lu to “go home and wait for news” from Ai. Studio assistant Xu Ye was the most recent to return from police custody. Ai Weiwei and reporter Wen Tao are the only people whose whereabouts are still unknown. While raiding the studio, police confiscated electronics, such as laptops, CDs and harddrives, and extensively questioned Ai’s studio assistants. Alison Klayman has details:

All eight studio assistants have been released and continue to report a strong police presence around Ai’s studio compound. During their questioning, assistants were repeatedly asked about their salaries, size of the studio and visa status. Police also confiscated hundreds of objects from Ai’s studio, including computers, hard drives, CDs and notebooks. Four police officers remained at Ai’s studio until midnight on April 3rd hoping to interrogate other members of Ai’s staff. At 5:20 am [Beijing time] in Beijing on April 4th, Ai’s lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan reported that Ai’s phone remained off and that he had been unable to locate the artist. Police returned to the studio Monday morning and have been stationed at the gate since 7 am.

Wen Tao, an activist and former journalist, was also arrested during yesterday’s raid. No one has been able to contact Wen in 24 hours.

Ai’s arrest is part of a larger crackdown by the Chinese government that New Yorker correspondent Evan Osnos has deemed “The Big Chill.” China has been warning, arresting and detaining lawyers, writers and intellectuals that fall on the liberal side and have openly critiqued the government. Find a list of those affected at China Geeks. “The Big Chill” has followed the “Jasmine Revolution,” the Chinese people’s quiet attempt at responding to the revolutions of the Middle East by staging protests. The small-scale protests seem to have pushed the government over the edge into paranoia territory.

Ai has been openly provocative and critical of the government over the past decade, and has been detained, questioned and placed under house arrest several times. Yet this time seems different, points out Austin Ramzy at Time, because of the greater Chinese political atmosphere and larger crackdown on free expression.

See our liveblog from yesterday for information on Ai’s arrest, plus collected tweets documenting the news as it came in and links to articles from major news outlets. Stay tuned to this post for live updates as more news comes in today.

Updates

11:53 PM EST: Dan Rather has what is now the last known interview clip of Ai Weiwei. See it on YouTube below.

On Slate, Alex Pasternak has analysis of the situation.

6:41 PM EST: THE US STATE DEPARTMENT CALLS FOR AI’S RELEASE

According to the AFP, the US State Department is calling for China to “immediately release artist and activist Ai Weiwei,” saying “his detention was inconsistent with the fundamental rights of all Chinese citizens.” Look for more international pressure on the Chinese government to make Ai’s situation clear.

Alison Klayman has an op-ed over at Huffington Post on why Ai Weiwei is not a criminal. She explains her account of the arrest as seen from New York, and concludes that the arrest is illegal by Chinese law (not to mention immoral and wrong):

Ai has violated no law. On the contrary, he has been scrupulous about working through and in accord with the Chinese legal system. His detention, then, seems to be without cause — a violation of Weiwei’s human rights and the rights guaranteed him by the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, especially Articles 35 and 37.

3:10 PM EST: The New York Times has reported that Ai Weiwei’s upcoming Zodiac installation at the Plaza Hotel in NYC will go forward whether the artist can be present or not. Artinfo has an interview with filmmaker and Ai documentarian Alison Klayman in which Klayman notes that this most recent arrest represents an escalation of pressure on Ai Weiwei. GlobalVoices has a collection of translated Chinese tweets from prominent cultural figures responding to Ai’s arrest. Peng Xiaoyun, opinion page editor of Guangzhou-based Time Weekly Magazine (@Pengxiaoyun) writes,

Ai has shown how an artist can participate in social affairs. He has overthrown the traditional image of China’s intellectuals – self-preserving, moderate, and pedantic. He has international visions, he is humorous and lovely, and he is well versed with the boundaries of civil movement. He is not a politician, but the authority is helping to nurture a political opponent for itself.

2:36 PM EST: UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has also decried China’s arrest of Ai Weiwei in a statement released today:

I am very concerned by reports that Ai Weiwei has been detained by the Chinese authorities. I call on the Chinese government to urgently clarify Ai’s situation and wellbeing, and hope he will be released immediately. The UK remains committed to engagement with China on human rights. I am absolutely clear that the development of independent civil society and application of human rights under the rule of law are essential prerequisites for China’s long-term prosperity and stability.

Still no word from any US government body. Twitter has seen a rash of calls for Hillary Clinton to speak up, and I’d agree. There’s also a movement to vote for Ai on Time’s Top 100 list of influential people for 2011, the artist currently ranks #10 in the polls.

1:52 PM EST: TED has released a “secretly recorded” video of a personal statement by Ai Weiwei. TED received the video a while ago when Ai was unable to give a live talk at a TED event, but the organization didn’t publish the video until now, apparently out of fear of tarnishing its image in the eyes of the Chinese government. Controversy has arisen with the caveat text that TED published along with Ai’s video. The text is quoted below. This hedging seems to be an effort by TED to separate themselves from Ai’s provocative politics. TED has previously enjoyed a fairly free relationship with the Chinese government, holding video screenings and affiliate events in Beijing and other cities.

TED is a nonpartisan, nonpolitical organization, and we understand the Chinese authorities’ concern at anything which might provoke social unrest. But for anyone who believes in the power of ideas, of human imagination, it is heartbreaking to see one of the world’s great artists shackled in this way. We will be tracking developments carefully. [Emphasis added]

Watch the video below:

• Ai Weiwei assistant Jennifer Ng has given an interview with the BBC about the events surrounding Ai’s arrest at the Beijing airport. Ai was taken away to the offices of the airport, “to a more closed area,” and has not been seen since. Ng was let through the security check and waited for 30 minutes. Police said Ai had “other business” and Ng should board the plane alone. Ng is currently in Hong Kong.

12:36 PM EST: No news on Ai. The Guardian notes that Germany and France lead the international outcry against Ai’s detainment. Cooper Union professor and experimental architect Lebbeus Woods has stated that he will not work in China until Ai is released. The Economist analyzes the legal situation, fearing for China’s “use of the law to impose political orthodoxy.” The Atlantic Wire has a list of quotes and events that lead up to Ai’s arrest. Should we have seen it coming? I think everyone did, including Ai.

The current attitude seems to be that the longer the detainment goes on without word of Ai, the more likely it is that the government has decided to keep him in custody, rather than simple questioning or a warning scare. Fox describes the implications of Chinese law:

Under Chinese law, police can hold someone for questioning for 12 hours without allowing him or her to contact anyone. If police formally detain someone for investigation, they are supposed to inform the person’s family within 24 hours… The fact that Ai has not contacted his lawyer or his wife suggests he is being held in a form of legal limbo that rights activists say is being increasingly used to coerce government critics into curtailing their political activities.

11:18 AM EST: The 2010 New Yorker profile of Ai Weiwei by Evan Osnos has been unlocked; it’s worth checking out. Donna Guest, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Asia-Pacific, says in a statement by the organization: “There seems to be no reason whatsoever for [Ai’s] detention, other than that the authorities are trying to broadcast the message that China’s time for open dissent has come to an end.”

10:25 AM EST: @Duyanpili (below) reports that the girlfriend of still-missing journalist and Ai associate Wen Tao returned to their Daxing district home to take care of their puppy and found that police had searched through the place, confiscating the computer harddrive and disturbing other objects, including taking some objects from the bookshelf.

Ai Weiwei is on the front page of the Financial Times today, see image here.

http://twitter.com/#!/duyanpili/status/54846244337627137

http://twitter.com/#!/philiptinari/status/54916063527313408

10:17 AM EST: No word on Ai Weiwei. Filmmaker Alison Klayman confirms that there has been no news. NPR Morning Edition has an audio story on Ai’s arrest, including an interview with Klayman. The story notes that Ai expected something like the arrest to happen as a consequence of his actions, provoking the government and speaking out against censorship. “This is a risk that was always there,” Klayman says.

7:41 AM EST: Still no word from Ai Weiwei. The artist’s studio assistants don’t know his status and the police are refusing to answer questions on why the artist was detained. Reactions are starting to come in from abroad. The German Press Agency reports that “German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle on Monday demanded the release of Ai Weiwei.” The artist has close ties in Germany and has worked there many times; Ai also has a studio under construction in Berlin.

Resources:

• The AP has an interview with Ai’s wife Lu Qing and notes that police are silent on why Ai has been detained.
• The New York Times reports on Ai’s arrest and gives some background to the event, noting that the government is redefining “the limits of what kind of criticism is tolerable” in China.
• Kathleen McLaughlin has a good report and analysis on GlobalPost. Joshua Rosenzweig of the Duihua Foundation, which tracks detentions and other human rights issues in China, notes that if the Chinese government is willing to tackle someone with the international stature of Ai Weiwei, they will show no compunction in arresting lesser-known intellectuals.
• The Wall Street Journal has an excellent report on China and Chinese rule of law (or lack thereof), analyzing what implications this may have for activists and random detention.

• BBC video report on Ai’s arrest
• Washington Post report
• New Yorker report