Artist Arrested for Satire, UN Calls for Freedom

0:00On April 19, Chinese artist Gao Jin, now 69 years old, got arrested at his Beijing studio back in mid-2024 while visiting family. He's lived in the United States since 2022, but faces charges of insulting revolutionary heroes for sculptures he made 15 years ago. Those pieces skewer Mao Zedong, like one showing Jesus at gunpoint with Mao lookalikes in the firing squad. His brother Gao Chang says the timing shows how authorities can now punish old art if the political winds shift. Gao Jin immigrated partly to escape tightening rules under Xi Jinping, who toughened laws in 2021 against mocking national icons. Meanwhile, officials grabbed his works and blocked his wife in seven-year-old son from leaving China. Experts call this the darkest crackdown on expression in decades, worse than after Tiananmen in 1989. Gao Chang points to a pattern hitting artists, writers, and filmmakers, with Beijing reaching overseas to silence critics.

1:01Pulitzer winner Ian Johnson says the party won't tolerate any digs at his leaders anymore. Last month, Gao Jin had a closed-door trial that could land him up to three years in jail. His health is rough chronic back pain, arthritis, skin issues, and he's shown up in a wheelchair looking malnourished. People release requests got denied, and the United Nations just called for his freedom, slamming the retroactive charges on art. Gao Chang warns this sets a dangerous precedent. If satire from the past becomes a crime today, no creator is safe tomorrow, no matter where they are. Stay informed with Global News AI-powered updates. I'm Corey with The Story.