Artist known for work critiquing Cultural Revolution arrested in China

The Chinese artist Gao Zhen, known for works critiquing the Cultural Revolution, has been detained by Chinese authorities, his brother and artistic collaborator, Gao Qiang, has said.

Gao Qiang said police in Sanhe, east of Beijing, raided the brothers’ art studio on 26 August, confiscated several art works and arrested Gao Zhen after he refused to hand over his mobile phone.

He told the Guardian that authorities said there had been a complaint, but did not give details. He said the Sanhe public security bureau told Gao Zhen’s wife the next day that her husband was suspected of slandering China’s heroes and martyrs, a crime that can bring jail sentences of up to three years.

The Gao brothers are well known for works depicting the former Communist party leader Mao Zedong, who launched the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 70s. All of the confiscated works were more than 10 years old, and reflected the Cultural Revolution, Gao Qiang said. The works predate the law against insulting heroes and martyrs, which was introduced in 2018 without jail sentences attached, and updated with more punitive measures in 2021.

“I believe that applying retroactive punishment for actions that took place before the new law came into effect contradicts the ‘principle of non-retroactivity’, which is a widely accepted standard in modern rule of law. There is a clear boundary between artistic creation and criminal behaviour,” he told the Guardian.

Related: How China’s internet police went from targeting bloggers to their followers

Gao Qiang told Artsnet that the brothers – whose father was jailed during the Cultural Revolution as a “class enemy” and allegedly killed himself in jail – had not made any works about the subject since.

“We are completely exhausted from dealing with the ghosts of the Cultural Revolution and have stopped creating such work,” he told Artsnet.

“They are detaining an artist who is nearly 70 years old under regulations that have been implemented only in the past two years. This situation is exactly what those works were meant to critique.”

Gao Zhen has lived in the US since 2022 but was in China visiting family, his brother said. He said Gao Zhen left China so his son could attend school in the US and because of the deteriorating political environment. Their work was often the focus of authorities, and was among galleries raided in 2006. In a statement posted to social media, Gao Qiang said Gao Zhen had planned to return to the US with his wife and children on Tuesday.

Under the growing authoritarianism of the Communist party leader, Xi Jinping, social and cultural groups and figures have been increasingly targeted. Authorities are routinely using laws including the crime of slandering heroes and the vague crime of picking quarrels to target lawyers, artists, dissidents and journalists.

Also this week, supporters said citizen journalist Zhang Zhan had been detained again by authorities only months after her release from jail. Zhang was released in May after serving several years for reporting from Wuhan during the Covid epidemic. Her conviction was widely criticised by human rights organisations.

On Monday, supporters said Zhang was re-arrested in her home town in Shaanxi, after meeting with the mother of a recently detained activist. The supporters said Zhang was being held in Shanghai’s Pudong detention centre but it was not clear if she was under criminal detention or administrative detention, which allows police to hold someone for up to 15 days without charge.

Reporters Without Borders expressed alarm about the apparent detention and urged “immediate mobilisation of the international diplomatic community to ensure her safety”.

“After barely surviving four years in prison and living under strict surveillance ever since, it is clear that the Chinese authorities remain intent on continuing to punish Zhang Zhan for her independent journalism,” said Rebecca Vincent, RSF’s director of campaigns.

The Pudong detention centre declined to comment.

Additional research by Chi-hui Lin