UK denies visa of prominent Chinese dissident artist

Posted by Alec Cope | Jul 30, 2015 |

British authorities have denied a six-month entry visa to Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei after he failed to declare his criminal conviction on his visa application.

The prominent artist and human rights advocate posted a copy of the UK Home Office’s justification for the move on Instagram. The letter stated that Ai’s requested visit had been restricted to September 9-29 only.

Photo: Ai Wei Wei via Instagram

The letter said: “It is a matter of public record that you have previously received a criminal conviction in China, and you have not declared this.”

The letter goes on to add that an exception was granted in his case and that any future applications “must be completed as accurately as possible.” The letter warned that failure to do this could incur a a 10-year ban from entering the UK.

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Alec Cope

After years of research and a series of unpleasant experiences concerning the current child protection services system, Alec Cope decided to combat the cancerous corruption through information. Freelance writing articles as a form of protest and distributing them throughout his former high-school and local area, Alec struck special chords with whomever he was in contact with. Alec has been involved in activism such as sit down protests as well as Idle No More gatherings. Being independent for the majority of his time, Alec became a member of the WeAreChange family to assist one of the organizations that inspired him to become active in the first place. With a larger platform and positive support Alec has committed the majority of his time to research, writing, and maintaining social media with the goal to continue expanding the awakening sweeping throughout all levels of society. Growing up within a rural area in Northern Michigan as well as being a native American descendant, Alec is seeking to expose environmental abuse in his state as well as globally. A high-school dropout, Alec chases his passion for writing and empowering individuals while showing any isolated person that they too can overcome the odds with a community that will support them. Alec lives in the lower peninsula of Michigan near Kalamazoo. https://www.facebook.com/alec.cope.75 alecope8@gmail.com https://www.twitter.com/AlecCope http://www.pinterest.com/aleccope75/