Three weeks ago, Burmese artist Sai was in Bangkok, celebrating the opening of an art exhibition he had curated with his wife at one of Thailand’s top galleries.

Now the couple has fled to the UK where they plan to seek asylum, their exhibition about authoritarian repression censored after angering the Chinese government.

The couple alleges Thai police are looking for them, though a police spokesman has denied knowledge of this.

Human rights advocates have condemned the situation as an example of transnational repression.

Featuring exiled artists from countries such as China, Russia and Iran, Sai says his exhibition, which opened on 26 July at the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Centre, saw repeated visits by Chinese embassy representatives, accompanied by Bangkok city officials, shortly after it opened.

The show, titled Constellation of Complicity: Visualising the Global Machine of Authoritarian Solidarity, aims to show how authoritarian regimes collaborate in repression, according to one official description.

Sai claims that the Chinese officials lodged complaints about works by Tibetan, Uyghur and Hong Kong artists, and initially demanded that the show be completely shut down.

But, he said, the arts centre managed to negotiate a compromise that allowed the exhibition to continue after sensitive artworks and elements of art installations were removed.

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