07/23/2015, 00.00
CHINA
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Dissident artist Ai Weiwei gets his passport back, can travel to Germany and Great Britain

by Wang Zhicheng
Ai, who had criticized the organization of the Olympics and violence against migrants, had referred to Communist Party leaders as "gangster". Therefore, he was accused of tax evasion, currency smuggling, and pornography, but was never tried. Beijing’s decision is a ploy to appease public opinion in Europe before Xi Jinping’s visit in October.

Beijing (AsiaNews) – Four years after he had his passport taken, artist and dissident Ai Weiwei got it back. This will allow him to go to Germany to see his son, and to the UK for a new exhibition of his world-renown works.

Ai was held in prison for three months in 2011 without charges. Later, his art studio was penalized and he himself was accused of currency smuggling and pornography, but was never tried.

Confiscating someone’s passport, which in Ai’s case was done in early 2012, is a practice traditionally reserved for dissidents who might embarrass the Communist Party by expressing their views abroad.

Ai Weiwei worked on Beijing’s Bird's Nest Stadium, which came to symbolize the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Before, during and after the Games, Ai accused Olympics organizers of ignoring the violence inflicted on migrant workers employed during construction. For this reason, he referred to China’s leaders as "gangster".

Britain's Royal Academy of Arts said that Ai would be in London in September for an exhibition of his works. President Xi Jinping will be in London in October.

Some analysts suspect that Ai’s passport was returned to soften up European public opinion and prevent possible complaints against Xi.

The government has had the dissident artist on its blacklist for quite some time, preventing the media from quoting from him. However last month, for the first time in a long while, the authorities authorized a solo exhibition of his work in Beijing.

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