AS THE MYSTERY deepened yesterday about the whereabouts of China’s most controversial and internationally best-known artist Ai Weiwei (53), the focus turned to who might be next to be swept up in China’s biggest crackdown on political dissent in years.
The artist’s mobile phone remained switched off and no one has seen or heard from him since security forces picked up as the outspoken government critic tried to fly from Beijing airport to Hong Kong on a routine business trip.
“There seems to be no reason whatsoever for his detention, other than that the authorities are trying to broadcast the message that China’s time for open dissent has come to an end,” said Donna Guest, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Asia-Pacific region.
The crackdown appears to be aimed at stopping dissent spreading from the “Jasmine Revolutions” of the Middle East to threaten the Communist Party’s rule in China.
It is also likely to be part of efforts to keep a lid on activism ahead of the transfer of power at the top echelons of the party next year.
Dozens of other dissidents, including bloggers, activists, lawyers, writers and critics, have been held in the latest crackdown and Mr Ai was one of the last big names to be detained.
Precious few nay-sayers in China remain at large as the security crackdown has all but smothered dissent. Celebrity blogger Han Han, who is also a racing car driver, novelist, publisher and rumoured to soon be a New York Times columnist, is one of the few remaining outspoken public figures in China and he could potentially be targeted.
However, Mr Han is hugely popular in China, while all of the others silenced so far have only had minority support. He is also careful to largely restrict his opinionating to matters that do not relate directly to one-party rule.
So far the dragnet of dissent has taken in figures such as blogger Ran Yunfei and rights lawyer Tang Jitian.