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[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don’t care about culture.

Ai Weiwei

I think my stance and my way of life is my most important art.
AI WEIWEI

Art Important Most Stance Thinking Way
It’s the place they take you before they give you over to the judicial system. You stay there for a year or two and they make you really suffer to confess everything.
AI WEIWEI

Before Confess Everything Judicial Over Place Stay Suffer System
The deadly weapon against totalitarian society is openness – doing everything very openly on the Internet, letting people know every detail, any little development. Once it is out there, everybody can make their own judgement.
AI WEIWEI

Deadly Everything Evil Internet Letting Openness People Thinking Weapon
Everything is art. Everything is politics.
AI WEIWEI

Art Changing Everything Politics World
Each year, more people want to become artists.
AI WEIWEI

Artist People Year
Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward.
AI WEIWEI

Censorship Forward Hopeless Insulting Self Timidity Way
To the media, I have become a symbolic figure, critical of China. According to the government, I am a dangerous threat.
AI WEIWEI

Country Critical Dangerous Figure Government Media Symbolic
I think the pearls – one is a necklace, and another you have five hundred pounds of pearls, which may be one million pearls in a bowl – really show a kind of [society] condition.
AI WEIWEI

Another Five Hundred Million Necklace Pearl Pound Thinking
The fantasy we had with pearls was always so luxurious and unique with a kind of rareness.
AI WEIWEI

Always Fantasy Kind Luxurious Pearl Rareness Unique
Had I to create a name for these times, I’d say it is the age of craziness
AI WEIWEI

Age Craziness Create Name Time
There isn’t a single Chinese university that can invite me to give a talk. Even though I know there are many students who would like to hear what I have to say.
AI WEIWEI

Country Hear Invite Single Student Talk University
You don’t have to march on Tiananmen, but you do have to be clear-minded, to find your own means of expression.
AI WEIWEI

Clear Expression March Mean Minded Own Tiananmen
I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn’t move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.
AI WEIWEI

Alien Illegal Move Moving Visa Back Year
You only have temporary curiosity, amusement, and challenges, but that does not necessarily mean you are really convinced that it’s necessary or that it’s not even worth to do it.
AI WEIWEI

Amusement Challenge Challenges Curiosity Mean Necessarily Really Temporary
That’s why the country can’t face up to open competition – unless it resorts to measures like North Korea.
AI WEIWEI

Competition Country Face Measure Open Resort
If human rights are supposed to have any meaning, then they have to be discussed openly.
AI WEIWEI

Discussed Human Rights Meaning Openly Supposed

[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don’t care about culture.

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[Cultural department] understand nothing but bureaucratic daily affairs. They don’t care about culture.

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