âChina is very powerful, with a clear vision. But itâs a secret stateâ â Ai Weiwei
The Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei (1957, Beijing) is one of the most influential and creative names in contemporary art.
In 2020 he was elected as the most famous artist by the international journal The Art Newspaper.
His father, Ai Quing (1910-1996) – writer and well-known poet – was in the 60s the object of purges against intellectuals and artists, that Mao declared counter-revolutionaries and enemies of the Communist Party during the Cultural Revolution.
Weiwei grew up in the far north-west of China, where he lived under harsh conditions, due to his fatherâs exile to a work camp in the Gobi desert. âThe farthest place you can find on the map of Chinaâ, as he describes it himself.
Upon Maoâs death in 1976 the family returned to Beijing.
As an activist, he openly criticizes the Chinese governmentâs stance on democracy and human rights.
He was arrested several times and detained in 2011 for 81 days without charge and had his passport confiscated.
After being allowed to leave China in 2015, he subsequently lived in Berlin, Cambridge (UK), and since this year in Portugal.
In Montemor-o-Novo to be precise, in the Alentejo province.
This year he opened his first solo exhibition in Portugal.
Rapture (meaning ecstasy but also abduction) – with 85 pieces his biggest ever â reveals work from the different phases in his life.
For example, photographs taken during the 80âs – when he still lived as an unknown artist in New York. A serpent made of backpacks, symbolizing the more than 5000 children killed in the 2008 earthquake in the Chinese province of Sichuan.
A set of boxes with three-dimensional scenes from the days the artist spent in prison in 2011 and his video film Coronation, about the start of the coronavirus pandemic in the city of Wuhan.
But also works created last year in Portugal with local craftsmen and materials. Such as Pendente, a 10-ton marble toilet paper roll – produced at B Stone – which the artist sees as a symbol of a world struggling to free itself from the pandemic.
Odisseia – the massive tile panel made at the ViĂșva Lamengo factory – representing the odyssey of refugees around the world and last but not least a statue of the artist himself â brainless and sitting on a chair to which he is handcuffed â made of cork in collaboration with the Corticeira Amorim company.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), Weiwei declared that âThe one-party system controls the army and the police, there is no freedom of expression and no independent judicial system. The CCP will rule China for a long time, even beyond our imagination.â
Rapture is to be seen until the 28th of November in the Cordoaria Nacional in Lisbon.
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âThe law doesnât promote the integration of immigrants, who work here for many years but are not treated as human beingsâ, says TimĂłteo Macedo, president of Solidaridade Imigrante (Solim). âOur Government argues, that we need more 
Both left and right wing parties in Parliament are concerned about racism in the police force and violation of human rights in prisons. The reason is a recently published report of the European Committee against Torture, stating that police violence in Portugal â in particular against African descendants – is the highest in Western Europe.
The committee â that also visited the country in 2013 â emphasizes that the police violence at police stations has increased and that the situation in the overcrowded prisons of Caxias, Setubal, and Lisbon is âinhuman and degrading.â
Julia Kozma, lawyer and chairing the European delegation, points the finger towards the Ministry of Internal Affairs – responsible for the police and the security forces â and regrets its lack of âawarenessâ. The Ministry denies the accusations and declares that âall complaints about violent police conduct are investigated by the Internal General Inspectorate (IGAI) and immediately reported to the Public Prosecutor.â
The reality, however, is that only a very small number of the complaints are brought before court. âAnd thatâs exactly the problemâ, says Kozma. âThere is a spirit of impunity and bureaucracy, whereby complaining doesnât help. The inspection body (IGAI) needs more skills to conduct criminal investigations and more resources to act independently.â
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