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| China Will Deport Detained Artist, Australia Says | China Will Deport Detained Artist, Australia Says |
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| Beijing — A Chinese-born Australian artist who was detained shortly after publicizing images of a replica of Tiananmen Square he made out of groundpork will be deported from China, Australian officials said on Friday. | Beijing — A Chinese-born Australian artist who was detained shortly after publicizing images of a replica of Tiananmen Square he made out of groundpork will be deported from China, Australian officials said on Friday. |
| The artist, Guo Jian, 52, has been in police custody since June 1, one day after photos of his latest piece appeared in The Financial Times along with his reminiscences of the army onslaught that killed hundreds of people during the pro-democracy protests in 1989. | The artist, Guo Jian, 52, has been in police custody since June 1, one day after photos of his latest piece appeared in The Financial Times along with his reminiscences of the army onslaught that killed hundreds of people during the pro-democracy protests in 1989. |
| Mr. Guo was among dozens of people who were arrested, interrogated and harassed in the weeks and days leading up to the 25th anniversary of the crackdown. Although Chinese authorities have told Australian diplomats that Mr. Guo’s impending deportation was due to a “visa-related matter,” it is widely assumed he is being punished for his provocative work and his public statements about events that remain taboo here. | Mr. Guo was among dozens of people who were arrested, interrogated and harassed in the weeks and days leading up to the 25th anniversary of the crackdown. Although Chinese authorities have told Australian diplomats that Mr. Guo’s impending deportation was due to a “visa-related matter,” it is widely assumed he is being punished for his provocative work and his public statements about events that remain taboo here. |
| On Thursday, Australian consular officials in Beijing were for the first time permitted to visit Mr. Guo, an Australian citizen, at a detention center on the outskirts of the capital where he is being held. “It remains our understanding Mr. Guo will be detained for 15 days and then required to depart China,” Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement. | |
| While temporary detentions have been used to silence activists and those who the authorities feared might try to publicly commemorate the anniversary, rights groups say the government’s efforts this year were far more severe and far-reaching. Among those jailed were Pu Zhiqiang, a prominent rights lawyer who is facing charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” after joining a private commemoration of the crackdown last month. Also detained was a painter, Chen Guang, a former soldier during the crackdown who has been speaking publicly about his experiences. | While temporary detentions have been used to silence activists and those who the authorities feared might try to publicly commemorate the anniversary, rights groups say the government’s efforts this year were far more severe and far-reaching. Among those jailed were Pu Zhiqiang, a prominent rights lawyer who is facing charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” after joining a private commemoration of the crackdown last month. Also detained was a painter, Chen Guang, a former soldier during the crackdown who has been speaking publicly about his experiences. |
| Both Mr. Chen and Mr. Pu remain in jail, but three others detained for attending the same event as Mr. Pu were released on bail Thursday, a day after the anniversary. | Both Mr. Chen and Mr. Pu remain in jail, but three others detained for attending the same event as Mr. Pu were released on bail Thursday, a day after the anniversary. |
| Mr. Guo was not so lucky. A former People’s Liberation Army soldier who spent 13 years in Australia before returning to China nine years ago, he was taken away Sunday by the police officers who showed up at his studio in an artists colony on the outskirts of Beijing. His detention came a day after The Financial Times published his eyewitness account of the violence that brought the student-led protests to an end. Mr. Guo, then a fine arts student at Minzu University in Beijing, recounted how he joined the demonstrations and later escaped when soldiers opened fire on unarmed crowds. | Mr. Guo was not so lucky. A former People’s Liberation Army soldier who spent 13 years in Australia before returning to China nine years ago, he was taken away Sunday by the police officers who showed up at his studio in an artists colony on the outskirts of Beijing. His detention came a day after The Financial Times published his eyewitness account of the violence that brought the student-led protests to an end. Mr. Guo, then a fine arts student at Minzu University in Beijing, recounted how he joined the demonstrations and later escaped when soldiers opened fire on unarmed crowds. |
| “In the army I had never seen that sort of violence. Then I saw the tracers and people falling around me — they were just gone,” he told The Financial Times. | “In the army I had never seen that sort of violence. Then I saw the tracers and people falling around me — they were just gone,” he told The Financial Times. |
| Friends of Mr. Guo said his deportation would mean he could no longer care for his ailing father, who is recovering from stomach surgery. They said Mr. Guo was aware of the risks, but they said he was unwilling to muzzle himself. His diorama of Tiananmen Square, constructed out of 160 kilograms, or 350 pounds, of rotting pork, was destroyed by police this week. | Friends of Mr. Guo said his deportation would mean he could no longer care for his ailing father, who is recovering from stomach surgery. They said Mr. Guo was aware of the risks, but they said he was unwilling to muzzle himself. His diorama of Tiananmen Square, constructed out of 160 kilograms, or 350 pounds, of rotting pork, was destroyed by police this week. |
| “Guo wasn’t naive about what he was doing,” said a friend who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation by Chinese authorities. “There’s a point to what he was trying to do. He wanted people to remember what happened in the square.” | “Guo wasn’t naive about what he was doing,” said a friend who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation by Chinese authorities. “There’s a point to what he was trying to do. He wanted people to remember what happened in the square.” |