Ai Weiwei’s Sister: Meeting between Artist and Wife Was “No Charity from the Government”

Ai Weiwei (艾未未)’s sister Gao Ge (高阁) told Human Rights in China (HRIC) that the brief meeting on Sunday evening, May 15, between Ai Weiwei and his wife, Lu Qing (路青), was “no charity from the government” (不是什么政府给我们的恩赐). Gao said, “Lu Qing and our family have made numerous emphatic requests to the police to file a case, in the hope that the government would follow legal procedure. But we have not received a direct response to our request from the government. We have reached a point where it is not bearable for us.” Ai Weiwei was taken away by police on April 3, 2011, more than 40 days ago.

Gao said that on Sunday, May 15, personnel from the Nangao police substation in Chaoyang District, Beijing, took Ai’s wife to the substation, and then took her by car to an undisclosed location where Lu met with Ai Weiwei. The meeting was brief. Ai Weiwei only said to Lu Qing that he was doing okay physically and had not been tortured, and asked her and the rest of the family not to worry.