Hasta La Ideas

With the temporary detainment last week of his assistant on distribution of pornography charges, it appeared that the Chinese government’s latest crackdown on Ai Weiwei for a full summer of the artist violating the media ban they’d placed on him in his numerous appearances where he seemed more than happy to speak ill of his native country. Now it appears the authorities have hit closer to home, with the arrest of his wife and business partner, Lu Qing. Reuters reports that she was detained for three hours and was treated as a “criminal suspect.” The crime in question appears to be related to the tax evasion charges placed upon Weiwei and his company, Beijing Fake Cultural Development. However, the authorities, who apparently burst into her home unannounced yesterday, weren’t so forthright about what exactly was being investigated. Here’s a bit:

The police told Lu that she could not leave Beijing “in the near term” but refused to tell her for how long. Lu said they also told her that they could take her back anytime for questioning.

Lu said the police asked her about the programs run by Fake and personal information such as her money transactions and bank accounts such as one in New York. But they did not mention the tax evasion case, she added.

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