There's still no word from Chinese police as to why leading dissident artist Ai Wei was detained when trying to leave mainland China on Sunday.
Widely regarded as China's best-known modern artist, Ai Wei Wei is famous for his installation of 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds at London's Tate Modern, and also helped design the bird's nest stadium for the Beijing Olympics.
But - to protest the government's human rights record - he boycotted the opening ceremony, and made no secret of the fact that he was not a fan of the games' mascots.
"I think this is the most ugly stupid design by record in human history", Weiwei said at the time.
He's said worse about the Chinese government.
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"We have to speak out because this is a nation lacking of freedom of speech, lacking of self-expression...to speak out is not our choice it's a necessity of our life", he once said.
He's also run foul of the authorities in the past, according to Chin Jin, a Chinese democracy campaigner.
"He was badly bashed by thugs and these thugs could be easily conceived sent by the Chinese agents."
Still, his reputation as a respected artist and the son of a famous poet has kept him largely protected.
Last week, he predicted in a German radio interview that authorities would soon come after him.
He was right; yesterday he and his assistant were detained in Beijing airport, and his studio is now surrounded by police.
Democracy campaigners say it's part of the worst crackdown on dissent in more than a decade.
Chin Jin says the government is nervous at the moment because of "this sensitive situation in the Middle East."
A number of lawyers and activists have been detained or arrested over the past few weeks - since an anonymous internet post called for the Chinese people to follow in the footsteps of Egypt and Tunisia.
