Ai Weiwei and China: The Whole World is Watching? 艾未未 Love the Future 爱未来

Love the Future. Love the People that want freedom. How free is your speech? Take nothing for granted.
Where is Ai Weiwei?
Update: HERE 4-12-2011 Ai weiwei wife questioned

Here IS BEAUTIFUL ART and ai weiwei's sunflower seeds. lovely.

...more than 100 million individually handmade replica sunflower seed...

Original photo:  Peter Parks / AFP / Getty Images Named number one persecuted Artist in Top 10 from TIME magazine--excerpt: "Ai Weiwei does not shy away from controversy. His recent detention at Beijing's airport was just one of several times Ai has been jailed and abused because of his powerful art. Among the human-rights activist's controversial works is a collection of photos called "Study of Perspective," ....

In a particularly gruesome incident, Ai allegedly was so badly beaten by the police he required brain surgery. Still, he has not quit. His continued resistance led him to be put under house arrest in November 2010, ostensibly to prevent him from attending a party at his studio in Shanghai. (The studio was later demolished by the government.) In a recent interview with TED founder Chris Anderson, Ai said, "I'm living in a society where freedom of speech is not allowed ... I'm trying to involve my art with society, to build possibility." MORE HERE and HERE

Where is Ai Weiwei? 艾未未 Update: "WIll pay for his crimes"

just breaking news story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8432272/China-breaks-silence-on-Ai-Weiweis-detention.html

and this just in:

Ai Weiwei is investigated by Chinese police for 'economic crimes'Authorities acknowledge police action against artist but still no word about his friend, Wen Tao, who also cannot be reachedTania Branigan guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 6 April 2011 20.56

Chinese police are investigating outspoken artist Ai Weiwei for "suspected economic crimes", the state news agency, Xinhua, has announced. Authorities had not previously acknowledged police action against the 53-year-old, who went missing on Sunday after being stopped by officials at Beijing airport.The single-sentence report, deleted shortly after it appeared, did not explicitly refer to his detention, and there was no word on his friend Wen Tao, 38, who has also been unreachable since his reported detention on the same day.

Earlier, outgoing US ambassador Jon Huntsman had raised the artist's case in a strongly worded speech in Shanghai, describing him as one of the activists who "challenge the Chinese government to serve the public in all cases and at all times".The artist's detention has sparked an international outcry, with the US, Britain and the European Union criticising a crackdown on dissidents and activists. Germany's foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, has summoned the Chinese ambassador over the issue.

Police visited Ai's studio three times in the week before he went missing. "He felt a premonition that he would be detained," his wife Lu Qing told AP. "He told me something might happen to him."
She said she was particularly worried about his health as he takes medication for several illnesses.
While Ai had repeatedly clashed with authorities, friends had already warned that this case appeared more serious because police had removed dozens of computers and documents from his studio and had questioned his assistants.
Earlier in the day, Ai's mother, Gao Ying, told Reuters: "I think they detained him for a reason. If they think they have something, it's certainly a fixed case, an injustice. I think they'll concoct some things against him."
Gao said she had been "filled with a bit of dread" since Ai angered authorities by listing the names of children who died when schools collapsed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Officials censored discussion of the subject after public anger developed over shoddy construction.
On the Sina microblog, China's domestic equivalent of Twitter, censors deleted many messages about Ai, and a search for his name produced a warning that results were not shown due to local regulations. But internet users fought back with typical ingenuity. Several used the words "ai weilai" or "love the future" – which looks and sounds similar to his name – to call for his return. One wrote: "I really don't dare believe that in this society, even love for the future can disappear."