Prisoner to professor
July 13, 2011
Chinese artist and political activist, Ai Weiwei, has accepted a post as visiting professor at the Berlin University of the Arts, the institution said on Wednesday.
The 54-year-old artist admitted that he wasn't sure when he would be able to leave China. In a letter to university president Martin Rennert, however, he wrote that he hoped shortly to set out concrete plans for his visit - a promise which Rennert described as a "positive signal."
Until last month, the prominent Chinese dissident was still being held without charge in China for alleged tax evasion. He is still forbidden to speak to the media.
His detention sparked international condemnation from Western governments.
Ai Weiwei has been fiercely critical of China's ruling Communist Party and many of his supporters claimed his arrest was an attempt at stifling his dissent.
Prior to his arrest, Ai unveiled plans to open a studio in Berlin, which is his European base.
Author: Charlotte Chelsom-Pill (Reuters, dpa)
Editor: Michael Lawton