And a slew of more links that have been backing up and on my feelings on the matter at hand

Am I really posting everything I can on Ai Weiwei's disappearance, yes it seems like it. Here is Ai Weiwei and Qingming. Here are a few articles trying to take in the disappearances from a wider perspective. Both are very good. Really there is not much to say on the issue. Anyone who has seen or read enough can perceive that the powers that be in China are afraid. There are so many issues which keep them up at night.

Often I was asked pointed questions about what I thought about the CCP by young Chinese people while I was living there.

I suspected that they were trying to bait me, to get me into an argument, in which they could stand up and defend China's honor against the ignorant American who dares come to China to criticize it. I always made it my policy (for good or for ill) to sidestep the question, to deflect it, to answer truthfully and yet to avoid falling into any rhetorical or logical traps.

"Please, anyone who knows the whereabouts of the above, contact the family"

Ai Weiwei, male, 53 years old. On April 3, 2011 around 8:30, at Beijing Capital International Airport, before boarding a flight to Hong Kong, he was taken away by three men. More than fifty hours later, present whereabouts remains unknown.
Please, anyone who knows the whereabouts of the above, contact the family

This was a missing person sign written and signed by Weiwei's family (I copied the photo and translation from Evan Osnos' great New Yorker blog Letter from China.)

Economic Crimes

Rumors have been circulating around the inter-tubes that Ai Weiwei is/will be charged for economic crimes. Not sure what this means; is this like going after Al Capone for tax evasion?

Sadly in many ways it doesn't really matter. The rule of law does not exist in China in the same way that it does in America or many other countries. You can't look to the letter of the law to explain why things like this happen. For issues like this, it is due to political reasons. By this I do not mean ideological politics, but small ball politics. The rhetoric of ideological politics is everywhere in China from banners pronouncing the "three shoulda's" and the "five woulda's" (Ok I'm being a little sarcastic.) or mandatory political education classes in universities. Even still people don't taken them seriously, every student I spoke with at HeDa dismissed these political education classes as worthless and boring, and even told me that the teachers themselves showed no interest in the subject matter they were supposed to be teaching.

Why Ai Weiwei?

It looks like Ai Weiwei is going to be the driving force at ShanzhaiZhongguo this week.

Other than scrounging for details on Ai Weiwei, I've been reading a lot about the budget, or lack there of, in the American Congress; some on Google in China (and its many missteps there); watching Nicolae Ceausesu's last speech in Romania in 1989 before his execution; and contemplating Bob Dylan's recent performance in Beijing (care to comment or compare yourself to Mr. Ai Bob?).

Here the Financial Times discusses Princelings (sons and daughters of former Party bigwigs) and their connections to Ai Weiwei and the general "Jasmine Revolution" crackdown.

Ai Weiwei round-up on the inter-tubes

First it must really be noted that Ai Weiwei is not the only person by any means who has been detained recently. Check this list compiled at Chinageeks.

Champion of classical Liberalism, the Economist ties Ai Weiwei's detention to the lack of a Rule of Law in China. Also, Weiwei sat down for tea with them last year to vent his spleen on the CCP in this video interview.

The Guardian covers Ai Weiwei's detention. And Foreign Policy addresses the arrests in general.

Sometimes it all makes one say stuff like this.

Ai Weiwei Detained (again)

Artist, critic, and Chinese Communist Party provocateur Ai Weiwei was detained by security personel on his way out of Beijing a few days ago. For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Ai, he is a remarkable figure. A conceptual artist in China today who splits his time between making brilliant pieces of art and poking, prodding, and critizing the Chinese authorities. And really doing both at the same time more and more often.