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=Ai Weiwei=

(a Chinese artist well known for being the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics. He is also an activist who has recently been involved in the investigation of corruption and cover-ups of under the power of the government.)

On April 3, 2011 he was arrested before boarding a flight to Hong Kong. His studios were searched by 50 police officers who left with laptops and the hard drive of the main computer. Ai, eight of his staff members, and wife Lu Qing were detained. His lawyer said that the arrest seemed to be related to the intense international situation. The unrest in the Middle East had made its way to China with people planning rallies to protest against the lack of work, housing, and fairness. Ai had posted on his twitter account : "I didn't care about jasmine at fist, but people who are scared by jasmine sent out information about how harmful jasmine is often, which makes me realize that jasmine is what scares them the most. What a jasmine!" "Mr Ai's wife, said the detention seemed different from his previous run-ins with the authorities: "This time it's extremely serious. They searched his studio and took discs and hard drives and all kinds of stuff, but the police haven't told us where he is or what they're after. There's no information about him."

__Ai Weiweis' perspective__ Ai Weiwei speaks very strongly for his distaste int the government. He believes that anyone should be able to say what they want about the government and their ways, without having to fear for thier life. Ai Weiwei is not concerned about the economic side of the Chinese, but more or less what the Chinese is willing to do for its people to help better them.

__Previous Run-Ins with Authorities:__ -On January 11, 2011, Ai's studio was demolished in a surprise move by the local government. -During the 2008 Sichuan earthquake various schools in the region collapsed and children died. Out of protesting by the parents of the children who died came allegations of corruption. The general mood that came about during reports of the quake was that local government officials and construction companies were negligent in the construction of the schools, having allegedly ignored civil engineering standards, saved materials and took short-cuts while pocketing the difference. Ai Weiwei supported an investigation into the student deaths in the earthquake. The aim was to create a list of the students killed by the earthquake's first anniversary. His blog that documented his findings and related articles was shut down. He suffered headaches and claimed he had difficulty concentrating after returning from Chengdu in August 2009, where he was beaten by the police for testifying for Tan Zuoren, another investigator of the Sichuan Scandal.

__Relationship with China:__ Ai Weiwei is a prominent avant-garde artist. Much of his early work was the assimilation of traditional Chinese art with consumerism and western influences. His work more recently has become more of social art experiments, such as "Fairytale" in 2007 which was a commentary on travel restrictions that Chinese citizens faced. Even though Weiwei holds a priveleged place in society he is still a rebel artist who clearly disagrees with aspects of the Chinese government. He had been selected to help design the "Bird's Nest" for the Olympics in 2008 but denounced the games in 2007, saying he didn't wish to be a part of the spectacle because of the "disgusting" politcal situation. Weiwei has always pushed the envelope by speaking out against the government. In a 2009 interview he commented on the rising concern about government control and censorship: "I don't think there is international pressure anymore, because of the economic crisis, China and the United States are bound together. This is a totally new phenomenon, and nobody will fight for ideology anymore. It's all about business."

__Promoting the progress of China__ Ai Weiwei cannot stand the Chinese government. In fact, he had recently sent up a twitter account talking about the Uprisings in the Middle East and that the Chinese people should push for their freedoms just like the Arabs. The government immediatly shut his accounty down. The reason why he was ceased Sunday, was for speakinmg out against the government. Ai Weiwei even tried to set up a protest rally at McDonalds to speck out against the government in an effort to try and contribute his part.

__What impact will China have in the next 50 years__ China's ecomomy will do amazing in the next fifty years. The US still owes China billions of dollars for helping them with their economic downturn. But, the problem is not the econmy. The problem is what's going on inside the country with education, sanitaion, and freedoms. The Chinese people are calling for reforms, but the government will do anyhting to silence there voice. So far the govenment has kiddnapped 13 supporters speaking out against the government, this is including Ai Weiwei. This may cause things to get out of control which will not help the Chinese politically.

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