Four associates of Chinese artist-activist Ai Weiwei (艾未未) detained along with him in a controversial case were freed after Ai’s release, friends of the artist said yesterday.
The four included journalist Wen Tao (文濤), detained along with Ai in early April when the two were at Beijing airport heading to Hong Kong, said Liu Yanping (劉艷萍), a volunteer worker involved in Ai’s campaigning on rights issues.
“All of the people connected to the case have been released,” Liu told reporters by telephone.
“That’s a big relief. But I do think Ai Weiwei studio’s work will remain suspended for now,” she said, adding that she was referring to Ai’s politically charged activism, not to his artistic work.
The detention of Ai and his associates marked the start of the contentious case which the Chinese government said was about suspected tax evasion, while Ai’s family and supporters said it was part of a political drive to silence him and other critics of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) censorship and controls.
Ai’s accountant Hu Mingfen (胡明芬), a designer in Ai’s studio, Liu Zhenggang (劉正剛), and the artist’s driver, Zhang Jingsong (張勁松), who all went missing in April, were also freed on Thursday or Friday, according to Liu, the volunteer, as well as Liu Xiaoyan (劉曉燕), a lawyer close to Ai.
The 54-year-old Ai was freed on bail on Wednesday, a day before Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) left for Europe.
The release of Ai and other activists has marked a stepdown of sorts by Chinese authorities, who have rarely flinched in prosecuting critics of CCP rule.
However, the tax charges and release conditions that hover over Ai and his released friends are likely to ensure they stay publicly silent for now.
Other Chinese dissidents and human rights lawyers detained and then released in recent months have also said they must stay quiet in return for their release.
Zhang was also released on bail, Liu Xiaoyan said, but he and Liu Yanping were unsure whether bail terms applied to the other three freed.
“My understanding is that Wen Tao is not allowed to speak out about what happened,” Liu Yanping said. “I think the others will be in the same situation.”
Officials have told Ai that he cannot speak out, tweet or travel without their permission for a year, a source close to the family told reporters on Friday.
China has denied that the international outcry over the detention of Ai pressured Beijing into releasing him.
Analysts say Ai’s release is far from a sign of a U-turn by the Chinese Communist Party. Authorities have muzzled dissent with the secretive detentions of more than 130 lawyers and activists since February, amid fears that anti-authoritarian uprisings across the Arab world could trigger unrest.
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