Chinese activist and artist Ai Weiwei was arrested last week in China. Melinda Liu writes that it is "too simple to attribute Ai's detention solely to the government's fear of an Arab Spring infecting China," but she points out that "the traditional Tomb-Sweeping Festival, which takes place in early April, signals the beginning of China's political season, when protests are more likely to ignite." Evan Osnos sees Ai's detention as part of a pattern:
Beijing is in the midst of what I call the Big Chill, an ongoing sweep of Chinese writers, activists, lawyers, and others, which constitutes the most intense crackdown on expression in years.
The Dish 