Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei said on Tuesday his wife had been summoned to a police station, the latest person close to him to be taken in for questioning.
The 54-year-old said his wife Lu Qing, who is the legal representative of a company charged with massive tax evasion, had been summoned to a police station at 6am GMT without explanation.
“I am very worried. She’s a very innocent person. If I have done anything wrong it has nothing to do with her. They should directly come to me, not to her,” Ai said.
“Several weeks ago, my assistant also got questioned for posting photos and four days ago another assistant who helped me do sunflower seeds also got a call from the Beijing police, telling him to go to the police station.”
Last year, the artist covered the floor of London’s Tate Modern museum with 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds as part of an exhibition.
Tax evasion
Ai disappeared into secret police custody for 81 days earlier this year.
After his release he was charged with tax evasion related to dealings by Fake Cultural Development, a company he founded but which is legally owned by Lu, and this month he was handed a bill for 15 million yuan.
Ai has denied the charges, calling them “politically-motivated”. Within weeks of receiving the bill, he was able to pay an 8.45 million yuan guarantee needed to challenge the charge thanks to donations from fans.
Several days later, Ai said he had learned police were investigating possible charges of pornography against him, centred on pictures taken of the artist and four women, all naked.
The artist has been a constant thorn in the side of Chinese authorities with his widespread activism which has involved investigating the collapse of schools in the 2008 Sichuan quake and a deadly 2010 fire at a Shanghai high-rise.
Threatening
Ai said he had managed to speak to Lu on the phone.
“I’ve called her and asked her what they’re doing and she said they’re just asking her background — where she comes from, which school she graduated from,” he said.
He added he had no idea if the questioning was linked to the company involved in the tax evasion charges.
“We paid the bond, they seemed very happy with it but maybe they’re trying to threaten her, or to tell her authorities are there. I have no idea,” he said. — AFP