Ai Weiwei’s Incarceration Stumps German Culture Vultures

As Ai Weiwei prepared to open a Berlin show of his work, Chinese authorities detained the celebrated artist in a bid to limit damage his criticism might cause abroad. The censorship immediately triggered international censures and debate about effective methods – gentle education or intense pressure – for achieving human rights in China, explains Aya Bach for Deutsche Welle. Ironically, Ai was arrested as a show opened in Beijing on the “Art of Enlightenment,” an attempt to show 18th-century Europe’s embrace of liberal values and rejection of controls over the human mind and spirit. Free-speech advocates blasted a show organizer, though, for suggesting that the West’s praise of Ai might have encouraged censorship. China should take solace in that Ai doesn’t limit his criticism to China or politics: A series of studies showing a crude gesture directed at cultural and political centers in Washington, Paris, Hong Kong and elsewhere hint at his general opposition to power. – YaleGlobal