"The Mainland Affairs Council urges the Chinese side to immediately set Ai Weiwei free and make proper explanations of the incident," said Taiwan`s top China policy-making body in a statement.
"The Chinese people`s demands for freedom, democracy, human rights and reforms are on the rise and we urge the mainland authorities to face and respect that," it said.
Ai, who is due to hold a solo exhibition in Taiwan in November, had been expected to meet curators at the Taipei Fine Arts Museum on Wednesday, said Lu Li-wei, the museum`s spokesman.
"The meeting was cancelled because we couldn`t get in touch with him after his arrest but the show will go on as scheduled," Lu told AFP.
Ai was planning to meet with his assistants in Hong Kong before flying to Taipei, Lu said.
Ai -- best known in the West as a designer of the famed "Bird`s Nest" Olympic stadium in Beijing -- was taken into custody on Sunday at Beijing`s international airport as he prepared to board a flight abroad, his wife said. His staff said he was going to Hong Kong.
Beijing police have refused comment on his detention, the latest in an expanding crackdown against dissent in China. (*)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
