China dissident artist Ai Weiwei finds Beijing studio bugged
Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei found several hidden listening devices in his Beijing studio after he returned from a trip to Germany, his friend Liu Xiaoyuan confirmed Monday.
Ai could not be reached, but he has posted photos of the bugs found in electric sockets on his Instagram account as well as a video clip in which someone set off firecrackers in a metal bucket next to a listening device. "Did you hear it," Ai wrote next to the video.
In another photo of a bug, Ai wrote: "There are always surprises."
The artist has in the past upset Chinese authorities with boldly critical remarks of the ruling Communist Party and its government. He was briefly detained in 2011 and released after 81 days in jail. The authorities withheld his passport but returned it to him four years later, in July.
