Berlin mayor launds Ai Weiwei, 'Friend of Berlin'
August 13, 2015
Berlin's mayor Michael Müller (SPD) has accepted the dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei as a "Friend of Berlin."
"Our city is very progressive. Highly creative contemporary artists like Ai are well connected to it through their work," Müller said Thursday before meeting Ai in person.
Although 57-year-old artist - known for his outspoken criticism of the Chinese communist government - signed the guestbook, he did not give any statement to the many journalist who were waiting at the event.
Ai was arrested in China in April 2011 while leaving for Hong Kong. He was released on bail following 81 days in detention without charge.
However, his company, Fake Cultural Development Ltd., was accused of tax evasion and later ordered to pay $2.4 million (2.2 million euros) in back taxes and fines.
Ai has appealed against the charges, saying they were imposed as a penalty for speaking out against the government. Chinese authorities only returned Ai's passport, which they had confiscated, to him last month.
During his time in Germany, he said he intended to speak with Berlin's University of Fine Arts about a proposed three-year guest professorship there. The artist has set up a studio in the German capital, where his son has lived for the past 11 months.
dr/rc (DPA, AFP, Reuters)