Cracks are forming in the uncharacteristic silence Ai Weiwei has maintained since his release in June. The Epoch Times reports Ai’s comments to a reporter for Hong Kong’s Apple Daily, describing his mental state during his 81-day detention:
He didn’t mention specifics regarding interrogation methods, or whether he was physically tortured or threatened with torture, instead focusing on the psychological torment of captivity.
“I lost all connection with the outside world and was immersed in a world of darkness. I was scared that my existence would fade silently; no one knew where I was, and no one would ever know. I was just like a small soybean, once fallen to the ground, it rolls into a crack in the corner. Being unable to make any sounds, it will forever be forgotten,” he said with characteristic élan ….
He said that every day he was woken at 6:30 a.m., and every day interrogated by two security officers. They deployed a “conversational method” of interrogation, the article said.
Ai did say he felt “reassured and glad” over the media and public’s response to the Wenzhou high-speed train crash. Netizens have for the last week excoriated communist authorities for attempting to lie about and cover-up the incident, and for the corruption and general lack of transparency that many assume led to the disaster.
Having recently joined Google+, Ai has now also reappeared on Twitter for the first time since his detention. From the BBC:
Mr Ai has now resumed tweeting, saying on Sunday: “Lunch 10 dumplings, bodyweight regains 3kg ….“
Despite the prohibition on public speaking, Mr Ai posted several messages on Twitter on Friday and again on Sunday.
On Sunday, he commented on his lunch and posted several photographs, one showing a pair of feet on a scale reading 97kg (214lb).
Another message read: “Five cloves of garlic“.
