Ai Wewei's Newsweek article censored by Chinese government
September 2, 2011
Last week, Ai Weiwei made his first public statement against the Chinese government since his release from jail. His article was published in Newsweek International, but when the issue reached China, censors ripped out the page on which the story appeared, according to The Washington Post. However, it was mentioned on the cover, so Chinese citizens were briefly able to view it in English online on Friday.
"Journalistically, you know you're doing the right thing when the Chinese censors tear up your magazine," Tunku Varadarajan, the editor of Newsweek International, told The Telegraph. "It delights me that astute readers will have seen the cover line, noted the ripped page, and then gone straight to the web to read Ai's courageous piece."
Ai, who spent 81 days in jail for previously speaking out against China's government, criticized the city of Beijing as being a "constant nightmare." The Telegraph reports that this act of defiance also violates Ai's bail condition, in which he is not allowed to speak of his incarceration or talk to foreign media publications.
People can use international calling cards to make calls to China to talk to their friends and family about Ai Weiwei's bold act.