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After nearly three months of detainment, internationally renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been released on bail from his mysterious imprisonment. Chinese authorities claim that Weiwei confessed his crimes, agreed to pay evaded taxes, and was suffering from a “chronic disease.” His conditional freedom is contingent on not speaking to the media, including via Twitter, for at least one year.
Weiwei is the most famous of a large group of artists, writers, and dissidents who have been detained in recent months. Appreciation for his work has even reached San Diego, where the Museum of Contemporary Art recently purchased two of Weiwei’s marble chairs. Although Weiwei’s release is encouraging, many others remain in captivity, including several of his friends, uncertain of their fate.
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