China Censors Newsweek Article of Prominent Dissident Via Voice of America: Censors in China have attempted to purge an essay written by prominent artist and dissident Ai Weiwei by manually tearing the pages of the article from a weekly news magazine. The essay, which appears in the September 5 issue of Newsweek, urges Chinese citizens to speak out against what he says is the government’s denial of “basic rights.” He also blasts the Chinese judicial system as being untrustworthy. However, the article was still accessible online to English speakers as of Friday afternoon local time, despite China’s vigilant online censorship. Ai was understood to be barred from speaking to media or leaving Beijing after being released from jail in June. The internationally renowned artist was detained for almost three months after being charged with tax evasion. In 2009, Ai was brutally beaten by police because of his work on a project that attempted to accurately count the number of children killed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. He later underwent brain surgery in Germany because of it. Image: Ai Weiwei greets reporters after his June 2011 release from jail.

China Censors Newsweek Article of Prominent Dissident

Via Voice of America:

Censors in China have attempted to purge an essay written by prominent artist and dissident Ai Weiwei by manually tearing the pages of the article from a weekly news magazine.

The essay, which appears in the September 5 issue of Newsweek, urges Chinese citizens to speak out against what he says is the government’s denial of “basic rights.” He also blasts the Chinese judicial system as being untrustworthy.

However, the article was still accessible online to English speakers as of Friday afternoon local time, despite China’s vigilant online censorship.

Ai was understood to be barred from speaking to media or leaving Beijing after being released from jail in June. The internationally renowned artist was detained for almost three months after being charged with tax evasion.

In 2009, Ai was brutally beaten by police because of his work on a project that attempted to accurately count the number of children killed in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. He later underwent brain surgery in Germany because of it.

Image: Ai Weiwei greets reporters after his June 2011 release from jail.

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