China accused of censoring exiles’ artworks in Thailand

Exhibition curator flees to UK fearing arrest and deportation

- SHWETA SHARMA

An art exhibition in Thailand has emerged at the centre of international concerns over censorship by China after some artworks by Tibetan, Uyghur and Hong Kong artists were removed or altered following an alleged pressure campaign by Beijing.

The exhibition at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) by Burmese artist Sai opened on 26 July, featuring artwork by exiles from China, Russia and Iran.

Titled Constellation of Complicity: Visualising the Global Machinery of Authoritarian Solidarity, the show aimed to expose the collaborative repression tactics of authoritarian governments.

However, just three days later, Chinese embassy staff, accompanied by Bangkok city officials, visited the BACC and demanded the removal of elements critical of Beijing's policies.

The Independent has reached out to BACC for a comment.

The co-curator, Sai fled Thailand for the UK with his wife on 29 July, fearing deportation to Myanmar, where he believed he would be punished by the military-run junta for his activism.

After the Chinese official and Thai police's intervention, the exhibition was forced to remove Tibetan and Uyghur flags, a novel about a Tibetan family in exile, and a film by Tibetan artist Tenzin Mingyur Paldron addressing the Dalai Lama.