Chinese artist, activist, and philosopher Ai Weiwei has been missing since being blocked from leaving China.
China is in the middle of a huge crackdown on lawyers, writers and activists by arresting and detaining them, since the government has seen similar online calls for protest like those in the Middle East and North Africa.
Ai is the son of one of China’s most famous modern poets, and that stature led many to believe he was protected from serious attack or formal arrest. He had been courted by the communist government as a cultural ambassador before his advocacy on behalf of social activists apparently made him a target of Chinese authorities.
No one knows where Ai is being held.
Ai is an avant-garde artist who is known internationally as one of China’s best artists and was a consultant for the futuristic Bird’s Nest stadium at the Beijing Olympics.
It has been a long time since the Communist curtain in China has hidden such a high profile figure.
This is a somber reminder of the kind of persecution the church in China is withstanding.
[via Seattle PI]
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