China Won't Let Famed Artist Leave Country

The Chinese government is forcing perhaps the country's most prominent artist to stay in the country on suspicions he'll try to attend the Nobel Peace prize ceremony, the Telegraph reports. Ai Weiwei has stated he has no intention of going to Oslo for the Dec. 10 event, in which jailed writer Liu Xiaobo is to be honored. "I was going to Seoul because I am a curator for the Gyeongju Biennale," he said. "Then I was flying onto Berlin and the Ukraine for other art events."

Beijing, incensed about the prize, wasn't buying it. It considers Liu a subversive for his involvement with Charter '08, a widely circulated petition advocating Western-style democracy. He is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence. Even Liu's wife has been placed under house arrest since the Nobel announcement.
(More Ai Weiwei stories.)