Features
Dissent Style
Speaking of Psy yet again, Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, who has proven to be a constant thorn in the side of the Chinese authorities, recently uploaded a video in which he and several others parody the South Korean rapper’s global hit “Gangnam Style.”
However, the target of the parody is not Psy but rather those same authorities, it seems, and the authorities were not amused.
On Oct. 25 the video was blocked from video-sharing site Tuduo by local Internet guardians, though it can still be seen outside China on YouTube.
In the video, which features a wide variety of participants, including hipsters, flash mobs, convicts, wedding parties and even UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon, Ai appears in a pink T-shirt and satin-label jacket from which he pulls a pair of handcuffs, meant to symbolize his government’s attempt to keep a lid on his sometimes scabrous comments.
Last year, Ai spent almost three months in detention and this past summer a Chinese court upheld his conviction and fine for tax evasion. He is currently under investigation for other infractions.