Ai Weiwei Quick Update
Some of you may know that Ai Weiwei was on the wrong end of some fists a month ago when he went to attempt to testify on Tan Zuoren’s behalf in the latter’s trial (to no avail). You may also know that he had brain surgery yesterday for a cerebral hemorrhage, possibly due to the beating he received from the Chengdu police.
Liu Xiaoyuan has posted an update, relaying two text messages he got from Ai Weiwei following the surgery:
They just took out the tubes and sewed me up. The doctor said that before the surgery I was critically ill, and that without the surgery I would have had no chance. Now I’ve taken a turn for the better and I will be back to work hard together with you all, rest assured.”
Then, presumably in response to a text from Liu, who doesn’t say what he wrote:
I know, I think every day there are people who are beaten and humiliated, [what happened to] me was nothing, I’m just extremely fortunate to be awake.
Good to know Ai’s still in the game. Whether you think he’s a brilliant social critic/artist or self-centered blowhard with a victim complex, it’s good to know the man’s still alive.
Also of Interest
For those commenters who were skeptical of the idea that sexism and abuse of women is an issue in China, we direct you to this recent post on the increasingly depressing ChinaSMACK.
Related posts:
Nice tweets. Shame about the art
“For those commenters who were skeptical of the idea that sexism and abuse of women is an issue in China, we direct you to this recent post on the increasingly depressing ChinaSMACK.”
Yes, there are such incidents, but it is a minor problem, otherwise Ai Weiwei’s spit would be all over TAM square.
From the Chinese comments, it sure doesn’t look like a minor problem.
Ai elaborates further in an interview with the major German newspaper, Suddeutscher Zeitung in Munich. A translation into English of that interview is available here: http://adamcathcart.wordpress.com/2009/09/17/ai-weiwei-post-op-interview-translation-from-suddeutscher-zeitung/
Thank god. Intelligent, brave people like him need to stay alive so that at least some of that nation’s youth won’t group up like detached rich kids or brainwashed automatons.
[...] at all. It’s still easier to get famous through suffering — Ai Weiwei’s brain injury has gotten him some attention, for example — but things may be [...]
[...] month later, in Germany, he developed a subdural hematoma, i.e., blood pooling in his brain. He had surgery, which was successful, and now he’s got a (somewhat) clean bull of health. He recently [...]