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| China Will Deport Detained Artist, Australia Says | China Will Deport Detained Artist, Australia Says |
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| BEIJING — An Australian artist born in China who was detained shortly after publicizing images of a replica of Tiananmen Square he made out of ground pork 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 work, “The Square,” appeared in The Financial Times along with his reminiscences of the army onslaught that killed hundreds of people during the pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989. | The artist, Guo Jian, 52, has been in police custody since June 1, one day after photos of his latest work, “The Square,” appeared in The Financial Times along with his reminiscences of the army onslaught that killed hundreds of people during the pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square in 1989. |
| Mr. Guo was among dozens of people who were arrested, interrogated and harassed in the days leading up to the 25th anniversary of the crackdown this year. Although Chinese authorities have told Australian diplomats that Mr. Guo’s impending deportation is linked to a “visa-related matter,” it is widely assumed that 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 days leading up to the 25th anniversary of the crackdown this year. Although Chinese authorities have told Australian diplomats that Mr. Guo’s impending deportation is linked to a “visa-related matter,” it is widely assumed that 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. | 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 in years past to silence activists and those who the authorities fear would 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, who was a soldier during the crackdown and has been speaking publicly about his experiences. | While temporary detentions have been used in years past to silence activists and those who the authorities fear would 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, who was a soldier during the crackdown and has been speaking publicly about his experiences. |
| 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. 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 seized by police officers on Sunday 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 seized by police officers on Sunday 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,” he told The Financial Times. “Then I saw the tracers and people falling around me — they were just gone.” | |
| Friends of Mr. Guo said he would be unable to care for his ailing father, who is recovering from stomach surgery, after his deportation. They said Mr. Guo was aware of the risks but unwilling to muzzle himself. His diorama of Tiananmen Square, constructed out of 350 pounds of rotting pork, was destroyed by the police this week. | Friends of Mr. Guo said he would be unable to care for his ailing father, who is recovering from stomach surgery, after his deportation. They said Mr. Guo was aware of the risks but unwilling to muzzle himself. His diorama of Tiananmen Square, constructed out of 350 pounds of rotting pork, was destroyed by the police this week. |
| “Guo wasn’t naïve 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 naïve 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.” |