Beijing: Chinese artist and government critic Ai Weiwei said on Thursday that he was ordered to take down four live webcams he installed in his home this week to mock authorities' round-the-clock surveillance of him.
Ai, who was held in secret detention for 81 days last year as part of a widespread clampdown on dissent in China, said authorities had telephoned and given him a "clear order" to stop the live feed from his Beijing house.
"They asked me to turn them off, shut them down," the 54-year-old told Agence France Presse (AFP), adding that he was given no reason for the order.
Before his detention, he had angered authorities with his investigation into the collapse of schools in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and into a 2010 fire at a Shanghai high-rise that killed dozens.
The website hosting Ai's webcam project (weiweicam.com), went blank from late Wednesday, as the artist tweeted, "the cameras have been shut down. Byebye to all the voyeurs."
"So I am doing you a favour to (let you) really know what I am doing and have a close watch."
Ai, who was held in secret detention for 81 days last year as part of a widespread clampdown on dissent in China, said authorities had telephoned and given him a "clear order" to stop the live feed from his Beijing house.
"They asked me to turn them off, shut them down," the 54-year-old told Agence France Presse (AFP), adding that he was given no reason for the order.
Before his detention, he had angered authorities with his investigation into the collapse of schools in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and into a 2010 fire at a Shanghai high-rise that killed dozens.
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The website hosting Ai's webcam project (weiweicam.com), went blank from late Wednesday, as the artist tweeted, "the cameras have been shut down. Byebye to all the voyeurs."
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"So I am doing you a favour to (let you) really know what I am doing and have a close watch."
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