When artist and patron are one

The rise or fall of an official career may affect one's sideline or hobby, especially when fame from the avocation is buttressed by the power of the position, observes Raymond Zhou.

Qin Yuhai's photographs were to be removed from subway stations in Beijing and Shanghai. That is unsettling, but probably less so than the reason why they popped up there in the first place.

Qin is no ordinary photographer. He is better known as a senior government official in Henan province who recently was suspected of serious violations of laws and regulations and is under investigation. There is a direct causal link between the person's fate and that of his art.