Chinese Artist Ai Weiwei Breaks Silence

Ai Weiwei has broken his silence. The prolific Chinese artist and dissident who spent 81 days in detention, made his first contact with the outside world on his new Google + account. On Monday, he began with two simple posts—“Greetings, I’m here” and another saying, “There are signs of life.”

So far he has more than 10,600 followers on his Google + account.

Before he was arrested, Ai had been a prolific Twitter user. But since he was released on bail in June, he had remained silent. Ai refused to give interviews or discuss his detainment. Human rights groups speculate he was coerced into silence as a condition of his release.

In his latest profile photo, Ai Weiwei appears in good health.