Wang Zang / 王藏, b. 1985 Self Portrait in Support of the Umbrella Revolution China (2014) [Source]
Arrests targeting Chinese artists have been increasingly frequent since poet and performance artist Wang Zang posted a deliberately provocative work on Twitter. Wang took a photo of himself holding an umbrella with his head shaved (both are symbols of the pro-democracy Hong Kong protests). He is pictured raising his middle finger to the camera. In the background hangs the national flag of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a rogue state...
Wang posted the photo on September 30 and was apprehended on October 1. The artist’s lawyer, Sui Muqing, told the Associated Press that Wang has been detained for “provoking trouble,” a charge that can carry a sentence of up to three years in prison.
Wang was due to speak at a poetry recital scheduled to take place on October 2nd in Beijing’s Songzhuang art enclave. The event was organized in support of the Hong Kong protests. Several other artists who were on their way to attend the poetry event were also taken away by police, including Zhu Yanguang, Fei Xiaosheng, Cui Guangxia, and others. Art journalist Zhang Miao who was working for German publication Die Zeit was also arrested (see “Arts Journalist Arrested in Beijing“).
Chinese leaders are anxious that pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong will spill across the border into mainland China. As such, they have been detaining pro-democracy activists across the country. Human rights advocates say that at least 40 activists in mainland China have been taken into police custody since Hong Kong’s civil disobedience campaign began two weeks ago.
Wang was released in July 2015. More info here.
