AI WEIWEI/VIA INSTAGRAM
Following yesterday’s news that Ai Weiwei would only get a 20-day British visa instead of the six-month business visa he asked for, England revoked that decision—the Chinese artist now has a six-month British visa, the Associated Press reported earlier today.
The British Embassy in Beijing had initially refused to give Ai a full six-month visa because it claimed that Ai had been arrested, even though, on his application, Ai had indicated otherwise. As it turned out, it was Ai’s design firm, not the artist himself, that had faced charges for tax evasion. In response to the rejection of his application, Ai posted a series of Instagrams as a protest.
Today, however, British home secretary Theresa May reviewed the rejection of Ai’s six-month visa and overturned the British Embassy’s previous decision. AP reports that May also “apologiz[ed] for the inconvenience caused.”