Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei Can Go to Germany as Often as He Wants, But Britain Says 'No'

The BBC was first to report yesterday that dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has been refused a six-month visa by the British government that claimed he lied on his visa application form. Ai posted a letter on Instagram stating his entry to the UK had been restricted because he failed to declare his "criminal conviction." But Ai, who was detained in China for 81 days in 2011, has never been charged with or convicted of a crime. Britain did, however, grant the artist a 20-day visa to attend the opening of his London show. But, it may mean he cannot supervise the installation of the landmark solo exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, which has a private preview on 15 September. ~~~~~ The letter to Ai Weiwei from the visa section of the British embassy in Beijing stated that Ai's entry to the UK "has been restricted to the requested dates of travel...because you have failed to meet the business visitor rules." The document, signed by an entry clearance manager from the UK Visas and Immigration department, added : "It is a matter of public record that you have previously received a criminal conviction in China, and you have not declared this. While an exception has been made in this instance, any future application you submit must be completed as accurately as possible." The letter concluded that the artist might otherwise face a 10-year ban if he did not comply. In a separate post on Instagram, Ai stated that he "has never been charged or convicted of a crime" and had "attempted to clarify this claim with the UK Visas and Immigration Department and the British Embassy in Beijing over several telephone conversations." But, according to Ai, the representatives insisted on the accuracy of their sources and refused to admit that a mistake had been made. This decision is "a denial of Ai Weiwei's rights as an ordinary citizen," Ai's Instagram entry said. In a statement, Britain's Home Office in London said visa applications are considered "on their individual merits and in line with the relevant legislation," but Home Secretary Theresa May is looking into the matter. It added : "Mr Ai has been granted a visa for the full duration of his requested dates of travel." The British Embassy in Beijing has not yet commented. Royal Academy director Tim Marlow told the BBC that Ai was "bemused and irate" at the "irritating bureaucratic mix-up." He said he wouldn't be surprised if the artist decided, "'well, fine, I just step back and I don't come to Britain.'" Ai flew to Munich on Thursday to visit his son, who lives in Germany, because Germany granted him a multiple-entry 4-year visa. ~~~~~ Last week, Ai's passport was returned to him after it had been confiscated by Chinese authorities four years ago when he was arrested in 2011 during a government crackdown on political activists. He was held for 81 days over allegations of bigamy and tax evasion but was later released without being charged. Ai has emphasized in interviews that he was never formally arrested and that the tax case was brought against his design firm, Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd., and not him personally. His wife, Lu Qing, was the legal representative of the firm at the time of the tax case. “It’s not on me, it’s on the company,” according to Ai. He was fined 15m yuan ($2.4m, £1.55m) for tax evasion in a civil case in 2012. The artist lost an appeal against the fine - which he says was politically motivated in retaliation for his criticism of the Chinese government. ~~~~~ Interestingly, Ai's 20-day visa means he will not be in the UK when China's President Xi Jinping makes a high-profile state visit in October - potentially avoiding any diplomatic embarrassment at a time when the UK is trying to improve relations with China. His detention in 2011 caused an international outcry, and his tax evasion charge caused supporters to send him contributions to help pay the fine. Perhaps the visa affair is the result of a bureaucratic blunder, high profile to be sure -- and that British bureaucrats processing his visa missed the fact that Ai was never charged criminally. The UK embassy in Beijing has not yet commented about whether it actually considers Ai to be a convicted criminal. ~~~~~ The decision to grant a 20-day visa that will require Ai Weiwei to leave the UK before the state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, rightly or wrongly, will be seen by some, including Ai Weiwei's international supporters, as a UK attempt to curry favor with China. The New York Times reports that British Prime Minister David Cameron has been criticized for his foreign policy based on trade considerations at the expense of human rights. After the Chinese reacted strongly to his meeting in May 2012 with the Dalai Lama, Cameron had to cancel a visit to Beijing planned for a year later when he was told that no Chinese leader would be free to see him. Pressed by his governing coalition Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, Cameron subsequently distanced Britain from the Dalai Lama and other controversial issues involving China. For example, he said little during last year's student protests about what many regarded as a violation of China’s agreement with Britain to protect democratic rights in Hong Kong. ~~~~~ Ai Weiwei has consistently used his art to speak out against China's poor human rights record. The extent to which human rights are recognized and protected in China is a matter of dispute between its government and external governments, organizations and individuals. Chinese authorities claim that existing policies and enforcement measures are sufficient to guard against human rights abuses. But, other countries, such as the United States, Canada, and India, as well as international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), such as Human Rights in China and Amnesty International, and dissidents inside China say authorities in China regularly sanction or create human rights abuses. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the US State Department have accused China of violating the freedoms of speech, movement, and religion of its citizens and of others within its jurisdiction. Chinese authorities claim that human rights are being improved. But, human rights groups have publicized human rights issues in China that they say the government is mishandling, including : the death penalty, the one-child policy, the political and legal status of Tibet, and lack of freedom of the press in mainland China. Other areas of concern include the lack of legal recognition of human rights and the lack of an independent judiciary, rule of law, and due process. Other issues raised include severe restrictions on worker's rights, the absence of independent labor unions, and allegations of discrimination against rural workers and ethnic minorities, as well as the lack of religious freedom for Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong religious groups and Christians. Some Chinese activist groups are trying to expand these freedoms, including Human Rights in China, Chinese Human Rights Defenders, and the China Human Rights Lawyers Concern Group. But, Chinese human rights attorneys who take on cases related to these issues often face harassment, disbarment, and arrest. ~~~~~ Ai is the son of one of China's most famous poets, Ai Qing, a Communist Party member revered today despite being sent to a labor camp during the Cultural Revolution. The family lived in China's far north-west, until Ai Qing was formally rehabilitated and allowed to return to his Beijing home. There Ai Weiwei studied at the Beijing Film Academy and was a founder member of an art group called The Stars. He then spent more than a decade in the US before returning to China. It was his involvement in the design of Beijing's Olympic Birds Nest stadium that brought him international attention. ~~~~~ Dear readers, that Ai Weiwei is treated relatively well compared to other Chinese dissidents can be attributed to his father, to his international stature as a talented artist and to his wide-flung network of supporters who regularly intervene in the media and with China and other governments on his behalf. The cat-and-mouse game that China is playing with Ai Weiwei is clearly meant to wear him down psychogically and physically. He was able to get a 4-year multiple entry visa for Germany so that he can see his 6-year-old son after 4 years of being involuntarily held in China, but for some reason, Britain refused him a normal 6-month business visa. What we know is that China's cat-and-mouse game with Ai Weiwei continues and that Britain has become a pawn. Willing or unwilling? We don't know. We can only hope that the Home Secretary grants Ai Weiwei his normal business visa. Some things are more important than business deals with China. Human rights, for example. But that didn't stop the IOC from awarding naturally snowless Beijing the 2022 Winter Olympic Games today.