“If I look at it, I would laugh. I don’t know how I became successful.”

The importance of elections, transparency, legal procedures, an independent army, and the judicial system is not regarded as highly in China. These core values are the most important evidence of the health of a society, quality of life, and security.

It’s just a way you have to set up some kind of activities to follow your instincts or your curiosities.

We should also leave behind discrimination, because it is narrow-minded and ignorant, denies contact and warmth; and corrodes mankind’s belief that we can better ourselves.

Creativity is the power to reject the past, to change the status quo, and to seek new potential. Simply put, aside from using one’s imagination – perhaps more importantly – creativity is the power to act.

I never really read Allen Ginsberg poetry, even though I have a book he gave me.

Any politician who respects China’s government should tell it openly what is in his heart. It is disrespectful to keep quiet about such issues – both vis-a-vis the government and the people concerned.

What counts in the end is what the government does.

Creativity is part of human nature. It can only be untaught.

In my life, I often make so-called major decisions by very quick, immediate responses.

Civilization has evolved toward more acceptance, understanding and tolerance of global thinking. If we accept differences, our creativity booms. It makes life much more colorful.

Now you have the equal opportunity to equip yourself through information and knowledge and express yourself as an independent mind.

Just look at the statistics: Each university has tens of thousands of applications for students who want to be in art school, but they can only accept a few hundred.

Liberty is about the right to question everything.

You’re still being looked at as somebody who – it’s a very complicated issue.

In this kind of dictatorship, in this kind of totalitarian society, it is easy to make deals that you cannot make in a democratic society.

Had I to create a name for these times, I’d say it is the age of craziness

I’m not a – I’m beautiful, but I’m not working because I’m drop-dead gorgeous with a fantastic body.

When you screen it the first couple times, you’re just trying to get the movie to work, trying to get the story to flow, trying to find out where your areas are where you have enough breath to laugh a little bit.

We only have one agenda, which is to make ’em laugh their pants off.

Audiences of critical thinkers are my favorite kinds of audiences.

Red lips like a living, laughing rose.

I remember once having to stop performing when I thought an elderly man a few rows back from the front was actually going to die because he was laughing so hard.

I’ve always thought something that makes you laugh, it makes you laugh because there’s a little bit of truth to it.

As for movies, what’s great about comedy is that if your movie gets laughs and makes money, you have freedom.