Keeping quiet
June 23, 2011
Prominent Chinese artist Ai Wei Wei confirmed Wednesday that he had been released on bail from police custody, nearly three months after his arrest in a Chinese government crackdown on dissidents.
"I am fine, I am back home and I am free," the artist told the German daily tabloid Bild.
As for the details of his imprisonment, which outraged the international community, and his release, Ai said only: "I cannot speak. Please understand."
The artist was released on bail due to "his good attitude in confessing his crimes," his willingness to repay the taxes he owed and medical grounds, according to China's official Xinhua news agency.
According to Xinhua news agency, "The Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd, a company Ai controlled, was found to have evaded a huge amount of taxes and intentionally destroyed accounting documents."
Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed Ai Weiwei's release, but said it was only a "first step" in clearing up the charges against the artist.
"Now, the accusations that have been made against (Ai Weiwei) must be explained in a transparent manner and in conformity with the rule of law," Merkel said in a statement.
International pressure
Ai's arrest on April 3 at Beijing's international airport drew immediate and far-reaching criticism from Western leaders, including German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who demanded his immediate release.
Ai, an artist of international renown who last year exhibited at London's Tate Modern, had long criticized China's ruling Communist Party. His release comes just days before Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's state visit to Germany.
Phelim Kim, an Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch, said Ai's release showed the power of international pressure. However, he cautioned that it was of crucial importance to monitor the conditions of Ai's release after his "illegal disappearance."
"The Chinese government may impose a bargain that, in order to effect his release, he will no longer take a high-profile engagement on issues of human rights."
Catherine Baber, Amnesty International's Asia Pacific deputy director, called Ai's release a "tokenistic move by the government to deflect mounting criticism."
Mixed reactions in Germany
"I greatly welcome [the news] and am very happy about it," said Klaus-Dieter Lehmann, president of the Goethe Institute, Germany's international cultural institution.
Ai's Berlin publisher, meanwhile, displayed mixed emotions about the artist's release.
"Of course, for now we are incredibly happy," said Wolfgang Hörner of the Galiani press, publishers of AI's blog, which has been banned in China.
"But we are also quite worried that he will be accused of financial crimes," Hörner added. "That's often a way to put dissidents in prison - or ruin them financially."
Hörner said that, while Ai's release was good news "there are enough other, less known artists, who are still under arrest or have been abducted."
Author: David Levitz (AFP, dpa)
Editor:Susan Houlton