P*V
发帖数: 587 | 1 Chinese Defend Detention of Artist on Grounds of ‘Economic Crimes’
By EDWARD WONG
Published: April 7, 2011
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BEIJING — The investigation of the celebrity artist and social critic Ai
Weiwei on suspicion of “economic crimes” is in keeping with “the rule of
law” in China, a Chinese official said Thursday, defending Mr. Ai’s
detention in the face of growing condemnation by foreign nations and liberal
Chinese of the detention.
The catchall term “economic crimes” is frequently used as a legal cover by
police officers who wish to detain or imprison someone whom Communist Party
officials consider a political threat. Such crimes can include prosaic
failures to properly comply with regulations on business registration or
taxation.
As often happens in China when political troublemakers are involved, the
exact crime Mr. Ai is being investigated for may be announced only at a
later date, after the police have more time to look into his affairs and
decide what crime to accuse him of committing.
“To my understanding, Ai Weiwei is suspected of economic crimes, and the
Public Security Bureau is conducting an investigation according to law,”
Hong Lei, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said at a regular news conference in
Beijing. “China is a country under the rule of law, and relevant
authorities will work according to law.”
Mr. Hong did not give further details, and he did not say why the
authorities had yet to notify Mr. Ai’s family members of the detention. His
remarks followed a cryptic one-line report that was posted on the Internet
by Xinhua, the state news agency, around midnight that said the same thing.
The report was deleted hours later from the Chinese and English Web sites of
Xinhua, deepening the mystery around Mr. Ai’s detention.
The government has convicted citizens of financial fraud before when trying
to silence them.
Mr. Ai’s mother, Gao Ying, 78, denounced the government line in a telephone
interview, saying: “Economic crimes! They say one thing now and another
later. It’s ridiculous.”
“They must tell the family why and where they are holding my son,” she
added. “They have no right to keep us guessing. Where is the Constitution?
Where is the law?”
Mr. Ai’s case is the most prominent one to pit the Communist Party against
liberal Chinese and Western nations since that of Liu Xiaobo, the dissident
writer who was sentenced to 11 years in prison here and awarded a Nobel
Peace Prize last year. In response to calls by Western governments for China
to release Mr. Ai immediately, Mr. Hong said Thursday, “Other countries
have no right to interfere.”
Mr. Ai, 53, was detained at the Beijing airport on Sunday by border officers
when he tried to board a flight to Hong Kong. The most well-known Chinese
artist outside the country, he is a co-designer of the Bird’s Nest Olympic
stadium and has shown his work at the Tate Modern in London. He is also a
harsh critic of the Chinese Communist Party. He had been presumed by many
people to be somewhat shielded from retribution by the central security
apparatus because of family connections. The order to detain him was almost
certainly approved by someone at the top level of the government.
The detention of Mr. Ai comes during the biggest crackdown on progressive
thought in many years, outside of the recent brutal suppression of ethnic
dissent in western China. Scores of people have been detained or put under
house arrest across China ever since Internet messages were posted in late
February calling for protests across the country. No protests ever emerged,
but the crackdown has angered and frustrated liberal Chinese.
Mr. Ai’s assistants were also detained and questioned in the last few days,
and the police raided his home, taking away computers and money. One close
associate, Wen Tao, a former reporter for Global Times, remains missing. Mr.
Wen has been working on a documentary about the case of Qian Yunhui, a
villager crushed by a truck last December; many Chinese on the Internet say
they believe that Mr. Qian was killed by corrupt officials.
Mr. Ai’s detention has galvanized Chinese to denounce his captivity on
microblogs and Web sites, and to circulate petitions demanding his release.
One such person is Zhao Lianhai, who led a campaign for compensation in the
wake of a tainted-milk scandal in 2008. Mr. Zhao was sentenced to two and a
half years in prison last November for inciting social disorder, but he was
released on parole shortly afterward.
Mia Lee contributed research.
A version of this article appeared in print on April 8, 2011, on page A4 of
the New York edition. | P*V
发帖数: 587 | 2
of
liberal
【在 P*V 的大作中提到】
: Chinese Defend Detention of Artist on Grounds of ‘Economic Crimes’
: By EDWARD WONG
: Published: April 7, 2011
: E-Mail
: Print
: Reprints
: BEIJING — The investigation of the celebrity artist and social critic Ai
: Weiwei on suspicion of “economic crimes” is in keeping with “the rule of
: law” in China, a Chinese official said Thursday, defending Mr. Ai’s
: detention in the face of growing condemnation by foreign nations and liberal
| v***0
发帖数: 5096 | 3 你连这个姓黄的广东人都不知道？
就是先过那个奇文，说楼兰古尸具有白人特征进而推断中国对新疆的占有是不合法的。
of
liberal
【在 P*V 的大作中提到】
: Chinese Defend Detention of Artist on Grounds of ‘Economic Crimes’
: By EDWARD WONG
: Published: April 7, 2011
: E-Mail
: Print
: Reprints
: BEIJING — The investigation of the celebrity artist and social critic Ai
: Weiwei on suspicion of “economic crimes” is in keeping with “the rule of
: law” in China, a Chinese official said Thursday, defending Mr. Ai’s
: detention in the face of growing condemnation by foreign nations and liberal
| P*V
发帖数: 587 | 4 sorry, sorry,
还真不知道
【在 v***0 的大作中提到】
: 你连这个姓黄的广东人都不知道？
: 就是先过那个奇文，说楼兰古尸具有白人特征进而推断中国对新疆的占有是不合法的。
:
: of
: liberal
| v***0
发帖数: 5096 | 5 极度萎缩的一个二鬼子。
NYT上有它一系列文章
我经常有感觉这B是两边拿钱玩无间道。
【在 P*V 的大作中提到】
: sorry, sorry,
: 还真不知道
|
|
