“The purpose of art is the fight for freedom.”

And who is going to win the competition if U.S. cannot hold a strong ideology? And even the U.S. would’ve lost the ground to win.

This so-called fame or being better off doesn’t really attract me at all.

Otherwise, I think the building can be bigger, larger, and the city can be much more crazy. The problem is the government structure is so deadly stupid, not really solving problems but creating a lot of problems itself every day.

China is at a different stage of development, human rights are violated here much more often. And still, we see improvements even here.

You start to see the society, how it functions, how it works. Then you have a lot of criticism about how it works.

I think optimism is whether you are still exhilarated by life, whether you are curious, whether you still believe there is possibility.

It [success] is really by mistake.

Destroy or build. Crazy or noncrazy. I’m not nostalgic about the old city. I don’t enjoy it that much.

Technology is a liberation. I think the information age probably is the best thing to happen to the human race in human evolution.

Of course, there [in China] has to be chaos. It has to be crazy, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong about it except this government, which is really incapable of doing anything meaningful.

This so-called contemporary art is not a form, but a philosophy of society.

If there is no freedom of expression, then the beauty of life is lost. Participation in a society is not an artistic choice, it’s a human need.

I wouldn’t say I’ve become more radical: I was born radical.

I call on people to be ‘obsessed citizens,’ forever questioning and asking for accountability. That’s the only chance we have today of a healthy and happy life.

What is important is that we actively express our thoughts and wishes, in every realm that we can access.

The [China] government has improved in the last years. Of course, the structure is still the same; there’s still a one-party system and strong censorship.

Other than our disagreement over Syria, I would say our relationship with Russia is very good and we are seeking to broaden and deepen it.

The Gulf states are happy for us to fight and die. That’s good for everybody, but the Americans fighting and dying.

It seems people don’t read or listen. Our scholars and our media have been very outspoken.

Saudi Arabia has said that if the US-led coalition against Daesh is prepared to engage in ground operations

I had to fight with myself ’cause he’s so good, yet he’s so popular.

Your twenties are the time to both accept and fight your way into the person you’re destined to become.

When Donald Trump focuses on a fight with the press or investigating leaks but doesn’t seem committed to standing up to what Russia is doing at home and around the world, that is of profound concern.

Russia is a competitor. They’re a strong nation, something we need to recognize, but their economy is just a little bit bigger than Illinois, so they’re not our equal.