Chinese people are undressing en masse on the web, supporting dissident Aje

Beijing - Dozens of Chinese have expressed their support for the dissident artist and fearless critic of the Chinese government, Ai Weiwei, in a peculiar way by posting their photographic nudes on the internet. Chinese authorities are currently investigating Ai for alleged pornography because he was photographed naked with four naked women and posted this image online as an artwork. This was reported today by Reuters.
As of this afternoon local time, at least 70 of Ai's supporters published their naked likenesses on a website called Nudity of Ai Weiwei's Fans - beware, Chinese government: Nudity is not pornography. Several of the images were accompanied by political comments.
Reuters pointed out that this is an extraordinary form of protest in China not only because participants risk penalties from authorities for supporting a dissident, but also because public nudity remains a taboo in the country.
Ai Weiwei, known for his extravagant exhibitions and innovative artistic performances, announced on Friday that his assistant and the author of the controversial photograph, Zhao Zhao, was summoned to the police station. During a four-hour interrogation, the police informed him that it was part of the investigation into Ai's alleged pornography case and questioned him about the motives of the entire event.
Wen Junqiao, who posted two images of himself posing naked on the mentioned website, stated that the interrogation of Ai's assistant is the latest form of persecution against Ai Weiwei.
"This issue has outraged many people," declared Wen, who lives in Hong Kong. "The interpretation of depictions of naked human bodies is a form of creative freedom. We see nothing pornographic in Ai's photographs. That is why we choose this extreme method of protest," he added.
Ai told Reuters that even during his imprisonment, police questioned him about his photographic nudes, one of which captures him naked with his groin covered by a stuffed animal. The artist told them that the images do not have a deeper political meaning and are not intended to criticize the government. However, he acknowledges that the government may consider them a "subversive act."
"We did it because it is a way to get rid of fear and a sense of isolation. Since fear and a sense of isolation are typical characteristics of certain societies," noted Ai.
Ai Weiwei was arrested this spring in a crackdown on government critics and was subsequently held without charges for three months, being released at the end of June. Later, he was accused of tax evasion, with the tax office demanding 15 million yuan (nearly 44.5 million CZK) in taxes and penalties.
In the case of the alleged tax evasion, Ai received widespread support from Chinese citizens, who donated nearly nine million yuan to him over a few days. Even then, the artist's supporters showed a sense of originality by not only transferring money to his account via electronic banking but also throwing banknotes in envelopes, folded into paper airplanes, or tied to various kinds of fruit on his property.
The world-renowned artist, who has exhibited his works in recent years in London, New York, and Berlin and reportedly earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sale of some of his paintings, rejects all accusations as a deliberate attempt by the Chinese government to silence his criticism of the communist regime.