{"id":5521,"date":"2015-08-14T23:28:32","date_gmt":"2015-08-15T03:28:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/?p=5521"},"modified":"2015-08-12T23:29:23","modified_gmt":"2015-08-13T03:29:23","slug":"teasing-out-ai-weiweis-endgame-after-china-lifts-a-travel-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/teasing-out-ai-weiweis-endgame-after-china-lifts-a-travel-ban","title":{"rendered":"Teasing Out Ai Weiwei\u2019s Endgame, After China Lifts a Travel Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW AUGUST 12, 2015 5:00 PM August 12, 2015 5:00 pm
\n\"12SINO-LETTER-tmagArticle\"<\/a>Ai Weiwei in his workshop in Berlin last week, among stools that were featured in his 2014 show “Evidence” at the Martin-Gropius-Bau exhibition hall.Credit Michael Kappeler\/European Pressphoto Agency
\n\u2018\u2018Silence, exile and cunning\u2019\u2019 was James Joyce\u2019s formula for the artist to survive in a treacherous world.<\/p>\n

The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei seems to be trying something different.<\/p>\n

For one thing, Mr. Ai doesn\u2019t want exile, he told the S\u00fcddeutsche Zeitung newspaper in Germany, shortly after the Chinese authorities lifted the ban on his travel, and four years after he was first detained over his outspoken criticism of China\u2019s human rights record. \u2018\u2018They also promised me I could return, which was very important to me,\u2019\u2019 he told the paper.<\/p>\n

Nor has he chosen silence. Newly freed from China, Mr. Ai, 57, has said things to German news media that have horrified his fans, who saw him as a voice of resistance to tyranny.<\/p>\n

Yes, hundreds of lawyers and their assistants have been detained by the Chinese police since July 9, but they are being treated better than he was, Mr. Ai told the S\u00fcddeutsche Zeitung: \u2018\u2018They are explaining to the detainees the accusations against them. The courts are deciding how to handle them. The authorities are no longer acting outside the law.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Yet lawyers\u2019 families and rights groups say disappearances and other extralegal methods have been common in the recent sweep.<\/p>\n

Despite this, Mr. Ai told Die Zeit, in an interview for its Thursday editions: \u2018\u2018If you look at the bigger picture, any country or political system has to preserve its stability. Arresting a few people is not a big deal.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Mr. Ai even told the S\u00fcddeutsche Zeitung \u2018\u2018There is a basis of trust\u2019\u2019 between him and the authorities now.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018My life is about more than just resistance,\u2019\u2019 he told Die Zeit.<\/p>\n

When Die Zeit asked Mr. Ai about his comments about the lawyers, he said, \u2018\u2018I don\u2019t have to talk about that again,\u2019\u2019 and threatened to throw out the reporters if they pursued the subject. At the time of publication, Mr. Ai had not responded to a request for an interview.<\/p>\n

On Twitter, some of his 283,000 followers are asking: Did Mr. Ai gain a passport but lose his soul?<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018You\u2019ve changed,\u2019\u2019 some tweeted. \u2018\u2018Apologize,\u2019\u2019 others demanded.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018Ai Weiwei really was my idol,\u2019\u2019 another user tweeted. \u2018\u2018Where will I find another idol?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

To which Mr. Ai responded: \u2018\u2018Garbage.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Their hero has fallen. Or is he displaying cunning, Joyce\u2019s third recommendation? Is he playing a game? Liu Xiaoyuan, a lawyer and friend of Mr. Ai, seemed to suggest that in an interview.<\/p>\n

\u2018\u2018You can wonder what he really knows about the lawyers\u2019 situation,\u2019\u2019 said Mr. Liu, whose law firm, Fengrui, was shut by the authorities in July. \u2018\u2018But you can\u2019t say you know if he\u2019s really free to speak his mind.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Furthermore, speaking in support of the lawyers could be dangerous for everyone. \u2018\u2018What would the impact be?\u2019\u2019 Mr. Liu asked.<\/p>\n

Mr. Ai told the S\u00fcddeutsche Zeitung that the Chinese authorities were watching him in Germany, saying, \u2018\u2018They are following exactly what I say and do.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Mr. Liu continued: \u2018\u2018People want him to behave in a certain way. Isn\u2019t that just like the Cultural Revolution? Attacking and criticizing and demanding that he apologize? People say he\u2019s their hero. He never said he was their hero. Or their leader. He\u2019s an artist.\u2019\u2019
\nFor detail please visit here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By DIDI KIRSTEN TATLOW AUGUST 12, 2015 5 … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[57],"views":4923,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5521"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5521"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5523,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5521\/revisions\/5523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}