AI WEIWEI FILES SUIT AGAINST CHINESE GOVERNMENT

Ai Weiwei this week filed the suit against the Civil Affairs Ministry for refusing to release information on its handling of the 8.0-magnitude earthquake that left nearly eighty-eight-thousand people dead or missing, the Global Times said, via the Associated Press.

Ai has accused the ministry of failing to respond to his request for information within fifteen business days as stipulated by regulations on disclosing government information. The outspoken artist was not immediately available for comment.

It was also not immediately clear whether the lawsuit was the first-ever lodged against the government since regulations on government disclosure went into effect on May 1, 2008—less than two weeks before the quake.

The artist has led a group of volunteers investigating the collapse of poorly built schools in the massive earthquake in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

According to the paper, Ai made a formal request in November 2009 for the government investigation report on the earthquake and a detailed account of the distribution of donated funds and goods used in the rescue and recovery effort.

A Beijing court accepted the lawsuit but has seven days to decide whether it will hear the case or throw it out, the paper said.