In the immediate aftermath of Ai Weiwei's release, there was talk that the Chinese authorities had won.

By releasing him, they had placated the dissident's supporters; by restricting his speech, they had silenced him.

China had taken the wind out of Ai's sails, so to speak, and by extension the opposition.

GlobalPost in Beijing: How China silences its fiercest critics

Or have they?

The Guardian reported this morning that Ai Weiwei is back to his old ways, tweeting out against the regime and in support of his friends who have been mistreated.

In his first overtly political remarks since his release in June, after more than two months in detention, Ai tweeted:

If you don't speak for Wang Lihong, and don't speak for Ran Yunfei, you are not just a person who will not stand out for fairness and justice; you do not have self-respect.

More from GlobalPost: Ai Weiwei's ongoing saga in photos

Wang is expected to face trial within weeks for "creating a disturbance" after demonstrating in support of bloggers accused of slander, and Ran, is a high profile blogger detained in March and charged with "inciting subversion of state power."