Questions on Ai's curious silence

No TALKING, no tweeting and no travel for a year - these are some of the conditions of Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei's release from more than two months in detention, underscoring Beijing's efforts to muzzle dissent.

The gag on Ai, who is not allowed to post on Twitter or accept interviews for a year, raises questions about the Chinese government's claims that his detention was based on economic crimes. "The key thing is these two conditions - the media and the internet," a source close to the family said yesterday.

Ai has freedom of movement within Beijing, but before he "goes out, he needs to report his whereabouts to them" for a year, the source said, but declined to elaborate on who Ai needs to report to.

The 54-year-old artist was released on bail on Wednesday, a day before Premier Wen Jiabao left for Europe, where Britain and Germany have criticised Ai's detention. China has denied that international outcry over the detention of the world-famous artist had pressured Beijing into his release. However, secret detention continues for Ai's three lesser-known associates lost in his shadow.

Authorities have not provided information about the location or charges facing Ai's assistant Wen Tao, his accountant Hu Mingfen and designer Liu Zhenggang, who all went missing in April.