Chinese artist Ai Weiwei returns to Twitter

Ai Weiwei's Twitter musings: deeply-veiled commentary or banal remarks?

Outspoken Chinese artist and critic Ai Weiwei has returned to Twitter after a long silence imposed by a detention and a government warning.

He was released in June after being held for 80 days but his bail prevented him from speaking publicly.

But Mr Ai has now resumed tweeting, saying on Sunday: "Lunch 10 dumplings, bodyweight regains 3kg."

He was detained on charges of tax fraud but his family insisted he was targeted for his political activism.

Mr Ai is one of the most prominent figures caught up in a recent crackdown on critics of the ruling Communist Party.

Famous for his art and for helping design the Bird's Nest stadium that became the centre-piece for Beijing's 2008 Olympics, Mr Ai was held at a secret location without access to a lawyer or his family.

At the time of his release, Chinese state media reported that Mr Ai was suffering from a "chronic illness".

Despite the prohibition on public speaking, <link> <caption> Mr Ai posted several messages on Twitter</caption> <url href="https://twitter.com/#!/aiww" platform="highweb"/> </link> on Friday and again on Sunday.

On Sunday, he commented on his lunch and posted several photographs, one showing a pair of feet on a scale reading 97kg (214lb).

Another message read: "Five cloves of garlic".

On 25 July, Mr Ai joined Google+ with the message: "I'm here, greetings."

It was followed by a photo of the artist with the caption: "Here's proof of life." He added a profile description of himself a "suspected pornography enthusiast and tax evader".

He also posted a number of black and white photos from his time in New York City in the 1980s and early '90s.

Mr Ai has accepted an offer to join the Berlin University of the Arts as a visiting lecturer, but it is not clear when or if he will be permitted to leave China.