China gives artist Ai Weiwei his passport back after four years

Chinese authorities have given dissident artist Ai Weiwei his passport back four years after they confiscated it, Ai announced Wednesday, adding that he plans to use it to travel to London this fall to attend an exhibition of his work.

The artist and government critic posted an Instagram photo of himself holding the travel document, with a caption reading, “Today, I got my passport.”

Ai’s representative confirmed the passport was returned. The representative didn’t immediately respond to further questions.

The high-profile artist has angered authorities by speaking out about a number of national scandals in China, including the deaths of large numbers of students in shoddily built schools that collapsed during a massive earthquake in 2008.

The government has blacklisted Ai from any mention in state news outlets, and he is not allowed to post anything on China's social media. 

Authorities detained Ai without official charges for about three months in 2011. His passport was confiscated when he later attempted to leave the country, and his design firm was later slapped with a $2.4 million tax bill, which he fought unsuccessfully in Chinese courts in 2012. The artist said at the time that the ruling came from a “barbaric and backward legal system,” and he alleged that the charges were politically motivated.

“This is a signal that the state can seize anybody who has a different political opinion. They use tax or whatever reason to make them look bad or to crush them,” he said.

Chinese authorities often hold passports or refuse to issue them to dissidents who might embarrass the ruling Communist Party abroad.

Ai’s work has gotten much attention worldwide, giving him a platform for dissent. As part of his criticism of the Chinese government's response to the 2008 earthquake, he posted the names of the dead on the walls of his Beijing studio.

Britain's Royal Academy of Arts said Ai would travel to London for a major exhibition of his work in September.

“This is wonderful news for Ai Weiwei, his family and for artists worldwide,” Royal Academy director Tim Marlow said. “We are delighted to announce that he will be joining us as we finalize the installation of his exhibition.”

Ai’s work is very popular in the United Kingdom. In 2010 he filled a vast hall at the Tate Modern gallery with 100 million ceramic sunflower seeds. Visitors were initially invited to walk or lie on them, but after a few days the ceramic dust was judged a health hazard, and the exhibit was cordoned off. It still attracted large crowds.

Being unable to travel while his passport was held did not stop Ai from working abroad. Collaborating with Swiss architects via Skype, he designed a pavilion for London’s Serpentine gallery.

While he has not seen the pavilion in person, he told Al Jazeera in 2012 that he hoped the anticipated 250,000 visitors would enjoy it.

He also remotely built seven art installation in 2014 for California’s former maximum-security prison Alcatraz, which is now a tourist attraction.

Al Jazeera and news agencies