Hundreds stage protest in Hong Kong for detained Chinese artist

May 2, 2011, 10:48 GMT

Hong Kong - Hundreds of people demonstrated in Hong Kong Monday to call for the release of detained Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

The demonstration in Victoria Park was held a month after Ai was arrested as he tried to board a flight from Beijing to Hong Kong on April 3.

Protest organizers the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements in China formed the Chinese character for 'imprisoned' using 1,001 chairs as part of the demonstration.

Hong Kong supporters of Ai, an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, have staged a series of imaginative protests calling for his release.

A giant image of Ai was projected onto the People's Liberation Army headquarters in Hong Kong at night, prompting legal threats from army officials.

The Chinese government says Ai is being held for alleged economic, not political crimes. However, he has not yet been charged with any offence.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 under a 'one country two systems' arrangement giving it freedoms of protest and expression denied to people elsewhere in China.

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