( CNN ) -- Weeks after muting his public criticisms , Ai Weiwei has broken his silence . In an editorial about China 's capital city , published on Newsweek 's website on August 29 , the country 's most prominent contemporary artist and dissident describes Beijing as `` a city of violence '' and `` a constant nightmare . '' He complained that `` the worst thing about Beijing is that you can never trust the judicial system . '' `` Beijing is two cities , '' he opines . `` One is of power and of money . The other city is one of desperation . I see people on public buses , and I see their eyes , and I see they hold no hope . '' Ai , 54 , was part of a team that helped design the Bird 's Nest stadium for the Beijing Olympics . Later , however , he called for a boycott of the 2008 Summer Games because he said China was using them as propaganda . Ai Weiwei joins Google+ . In his essay Ai remains critical . `` None of my art represents Beijing , '' he writes . `` The Bird 's Nest -- I never think about it . After the Olympics , the common folks do n't talk about it because the Olympics did not bring joy to the people . '' Ai 's new comments could further strain his relations with the Chinese officialS . On April 3 Ai was detained at the Beijing airport while en route to Hong Kong . He was held for 81 days . Chinese authorities accused him of tax evasion , although he was never formally charged . His family maintains that the detention was politically motivated . The maverick artist had offended Chinese authorities with his use of avant garde art and the Internet to criticize government policies and behavior . He used social networking sites like Twitter and its Chinese version `` weibo '' to influence public opinion and lobby against official abuse . Months after the massive 2008 earthquake , for example , he mobilized hundreds of volunteers to investigate the deaths of schoolchildren in school buildings that collapsed in the Sichuan quake . Ai later published their names on this Twitter account to demand accountability . He has also accused the Chinese government of trying to silence dissidents . In the past several months , rights groups say China has rounded up lawyers , human rights activists and bloggers following online calls for anti-government protests-a `` Jasmine Revolution '' -- similar to those that have swept the Middle East . Government censors also have apparently blocked internet links to phrases like `` jasmine revolution '' and names such as `` Ai Weiwei '' to cut the flow of information , activists say . When Ai was released from detention in June , Beijing reportedly imposed conditions on him , including a gag order , forbidding him from talking to the press . But Ai is now again speaking out publicly . In his Newsweek editorial , the artist writes , `` there are positives to beijing , '' pointing out that there are a few nice parks . He writes about walking in a park in Beijing and notes that a few people came up to him and gave him a thumbs-up or a pat on the shoulder . Ai asks : `` Why do they have to do that in such a secretive way ? No one is willing to speak out . What are they waiting for ? ''
Twitter describes China as `` a city of violence '' in a recent CNN article . The dissident artist consistently defies a `` gagging order '' imposed on him in Beijing . The artist was detained in China August 29 but no charges were brought against him .