Ai Weiwei Detained
Details are scarce and I have nothing of value to add; here’s the story as written by Tania Branigan and Jonathan Watts for the Guardian:
China’s best-known artist, Ai Weiwei, has been detained in Beijing and police have searched his studio, confiscated computers and questioned assistants.
The 53-year-old remains uncontactable more than 12 hours after officials held him at the capital’s airport.
The whole story is well worth reading. Two thoughts: first, the timing of this was carefully chosen. Ai, apparently, was detained right at the beginning of a nationwide three day holiday.
Second, it lends some more credence to this. Expats who have lived in China for years are beginning to talk about going home. The government, I suspect, doesn’t care, and I’m sure there are others who feel that foreigners who don’t like the way China is governed should leave.
