Artist and human rights activist Ai Weiwei got his passport back from Chinese authorities this week and is free to leave his homeland. His papers were seized in April 2011 when he was taken into custody by the Chinese government, detained and questioned for 81 days then put under virtual house arrest for a year, and his passport was withheld until now. Without his passport, Mr. Ai was unable to attend openings of major exhibitions of his work in the US and Europe, and could not visit his son, who lives in Germany.
More:
“Ai Weiwei free to travel overseas again after China returns his passport,” Tom Phillips, The Guardian
“After 4 years, Chinese authorities return passport to artist Ai Weiwei,”Jonathan Kaiman and Juli Makinen, Los Angeles Times
“Ai Weiwei’s Freedom by Fiat,” Evan Osnos, The New Yorker
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