Good news for you artsy folk—artist Ai Weiwei’s got his passport back, and will be traveling to Australia for a possible exhibition. But bad news, Swifties: Your queen Taylor Swift can’t peddle her “TS 1989” hoodie in the mainland he came from.
The return of Weiwei’s passport is relevant given that it’s been more than four years since the passport has been confiscated since his 81-day secret detention. It’s been awhile since he can travel and promote his art and advocacies again.
Fresh off a Twitter feud that’s more about racial body politics than sex, Taylor faces new sensitivity issues as a print in her clothing line rings out “Tiananmen Square 1989” to the Chinese more than it does Taylor Swift 1989.
Having these two famed figures in related news items show just how polarizing the Chinese law could be. ABC reports that there’s a possibility that Weiwei was given freedom to counter the bad publicity China’s getting from a weekend crackdown on human rights lawyers and activists.
However, in Taylor’s case, China probably just doesn’t care about the bad rep. It’s just very mindful of itself, that’s all.
Photo courtesy of Huck
