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| Ai Weiwei tells of his lack of support from British government | Ai Weiwei tells of his lack of support from British government |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The artist Ai Weiwei has talked about the generous support he received from foreign governments during his troubles with the Chinese authorities, with one notable exception: the British. | |
| Ai was unable to leave his home country for four years until he was finally given his passport back in July. That meant he could visit London where the Royal Academy of Arts will next week open the first major show of his work staged by a major British institution. | Ai was unable to leave his home country for four years until he was finally given his passport back in July. That meant he could visit London where the Royal Academy of Arts will next week open the first major show of his work staged by a major British institution. |
| Related: Ai Weiwei webchat – as it happened | |
| But the British authorities initially refused to give Ai a normal business visa, a decision quickly reversed by the home secretary, Theresa May. | But the British authorities initially refused to give Ai a normal business visa, a decision quickly reversed by the home secretary, Theresa May. |
| At a press conference ahead of his RA show, Ai was asked whether he thought the first decision was a mistake, or a deliberate act so as not to upset the Chinese authorities. | At a press conference ahead of his RA show, Ai was asked whether he thought the first decision was a mistake, or a deliberate act so as not to upset the Chinese authorities. |
| “I cannot say that, it is not my position to say that,” he said. But Ai talked about the support he received over the last four years since he was detained for 81 days in 2011 during a crackdown on political activists. | “I cannot say that, it is not my position to say that,” he said. But Ai talked about the support he received over the last four years since he was detained for 81 days in 2011 during a crackdown on political activists. |
| “I met all the ambassadors in Beijing, from US, Germany – Germany, we have very frequent contacts, like monthly – and Canada, Australia, even the French once, but I never met a British ambassador. | “I met all the ambassadors in Beijing, from US, Germany – Germany, we have very frequent contacts, like monthly – and Canada, Australia, even the French once, but I never met a British ambassador. |
| “I think they are quite [averse] to touch the issues relating to anything which would disturb, actually. They should have a voice in matters because this is a fundamental value ... It is the value of a civil society, that’s why a society becomes healthy. By doing that [ignoring him] it shows a distrust in those values, I do not think it shows respect to the Chinese people.” | “I think they are quite [averse] to touch the issues relating to anything which would disturb, actually. They should have a voice in matters because this is a fundamental value ... It is the value of a civil society, that’s why a society becomes healthy. By doing that [ignoring him] it shows a distrust in those values, I do not think it shows respect to the Chinese people.” |
| Ai said his only conversation with the British ambassador Barbara Woodward was when he was at the airport waiting to fly to Munich. She refused to back down on the decision. “I did have a clear discussion with the ambassador at 8am, I could see she was in a hurry to call me ... I could not convince her,” he said. | |
| The reason for refusing the visa was that Ai had not declared his “criminal conviction” on his application form – a reference to his incarceration in 2011 when he was, in fact, never charged. | The reason for refusing the visa was that Ai had not declared his “criminal conviction” on his application form – a reference to his incarceration in 2011 when he was, in fact, never charged. |
| A day after Ai’s conversation with Woodward he posted the refusal letter on social media, it went viral, and within a few days May had personally intervened and sent him a letter “apologising for the inconvenience caused”. | |
| Related: Royal Academy turns to crowdfunding to bring Ai Weiwei's trees to London | |
| At the press conference Ai was asked about the emotional strains of the last four years. “It is very hard to talk about it,” he said. “I am sure it has deeply affected me and affected a lot of people... my family especially my mom and my son.” | |
| He said his son, now six, had suffered from nightmares and his mother had “aged so fast.” | |
| Despite his situation Ai has not lost his joie de vivre. During a later Guardian webchat he was asked what brought him joy and replied it was “talking to people I don’t know on the internet! | |
| “I love it because it’s purely focussed on discussion, and is very abstract. I was talking on Twitter 24 hours a day in 2009, after they shut off my blog and before I got arrested, and for a moment I had the illusion that I would generate a revolution by myself. It was a riot.” | |
| Ai returned to China after a decade living in New York, a pivotal time he said when he became friends with the Beat poet Allen Ginsberg. “I couldn’t even imagine not having gone to New York,” he said. “I felt totally free there, and I was poor but desperate. I had many jobs in the United States, from construction to house-cleaning, even babysitting.” | |
| Related: Ai Weiwei given extended visa to visit Britain after Theresa May intervenes | Related: Ai Weiwei given extended visa to visit Britain after Theresa May intervenes |
| In Germany, Ai has a work permit and a four-year visa and plans to split his time between Beijing and Berlin, where he has a contract to teach at the university. | In Germany, Ai has a work permit and a four-year visa and plans to split his time between Beijing and Berlin, where he has a contract to teach at the university. |
| He said Germany was a country “which gave me a great help when I was in extreme conditions. | |
| “In 2011 and even before that, Germans are persistently asking or demanding my rights. I halfway live there now, because I teach in Berlin. I haven’t totally got into its art scene yet, in the few weeks since I got my passport back, but there’s a lot of young artists and it’s lively - and the rent is cheap.” | |
| One questioner said they taught in a high school in Nanjing and not one 16-17 year old student knew who he was. “I feel sorry that my voice still hasn’t got through,” he said, blaming Chinese censorship. | |
| “Censorship works: they have never heard of me, or heard of the Tiananmen massacre in 1989. They don’t know that my father and hundreds of other intellectuals were punished with hard labour in 1957.” | |
| Asked what he would like to change about the Chinese government, he said: “First they have to be a society ruled of law rather than ruled by law, so nobody is above the law. And second, to really have an election. And to really have freedom of media, so people can state their mind and can examine the government’s performance.” | |
| At his press conference Ai said he felt “very proud of Germany” for its “very civilised” response to the refugee crisis and urged the British government to do more to help. “It’s a really urgent situation but not short-term, it’s going to be lasting for a very long time and takes global effort from different nations. | |
| “I think the western countries have to come up with some sort of decision to help each other and get a better, more sound way to deal with the situation. I believe British people also have very strong compassion and I think the government should take a better position on that,” he said. | “I think the western countries have to come up with some sort of decision to help each other and get a better, more sound way to deal with the situation. I believe British people also have very strong compassion and I think the government should take a better position on that,” he said. |
| The RA show will include major works from 1993 onwards, the year the artist returned to China after more than a decade living in the US. | The RA show will include major works from 1993 onwards, the year the artist returned to China after more than a decade living in the US. |
| In the courtyard will be gnarled trees transported from the mountains of southern China for a site-specific installation that the RA raised the required £100,000 via Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. | |
| • Ai Weiwei at the Royal Academy of Arts, 19 September-13 December | • Ai Weiwei at the Royal Academy of Arts, 19 September-13 December |