Dissident artist: China's arrests of Canadians unsurprising Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei says China's arrests of two Canadians who have been detained in apparent retaliation for the arrest of a top Chinese Huawei executive is unsurprising because forced detentions without due process are common in China

TORONTO -- Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei said Wednesday that China's arrests of two Canadians who have been detained in apparent retaliation for the arrest of a top Chinese Huawei executive is unsurprising because disappearances and forced detentions without due process are common in China.

The frequent government critic issued a statement in response to tensions between Canada and China ahead of his exhibition at Toronto's Gardiner Museum next month.

"China is not a nation under rule of law. China is a nation under rule of the Party," he said.

Ai said the West is the hidden force behind China's rise and blames Western countries for pretending not to notice that China has not changed its authoritarian tendencies.

In 2011, Ai was detained by Chinese authorities for his outspoken views on human rights. Ai's passport was withheld for four years but was returned to him in July 2015. The artist now works from a studio in Germany and has traveled the world to document the plight of refugees and migrants. His exhibition, which opens Feb. 28, includes works depicting refugees.

Ai said the West has benefited economically from its partnership with China through the exploitation of labor, environmental damage and corruption.

"The West's apparent conflict with the situation in China is because of its refusal to acknowledge its complicity in creating this monstrous regime," he said.

"In the end, nothing will change. China completely ignores so-called universal values."

The arrest of the daughter of Huawei's founder at Vancouver's airport on Dec. 1 has led to the worst relations between Canada and China since the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. The U.S. wants her extradited to face charges that she committed fraud by misleading banks about Huawei's business dealings in Iran.

China detained two Canadians shortly after her arrest in an apparent attempt to pressure Canada to release her. A Chinese court also sentenced a third Canadian to death in a sudden retrial of a drug case, overturning a 15-year prison term handed down earlier.