“I think China is laughing about the results of the presidential elections. China, Russia, they all laugh about it.”

The whole attitude of society has become much more open and realistic. They realize that the only way to make a more democratic and free society is to let different opinions come out.

I am everywhere and I am nowhere. That’s the beauty of the Internet Age.

I believe [the architecture firm] Herzog and de Meuron and our collaboration made the product the best it could be.

If it’s possible, I will have some noodles in the morning and start talking to people, start to think about a few things in my head.

The art always wins. Anything can happen to me, but the art will stay.

Censorship is saying: “I’m the one who says the last sentence. Whatever you say, the conclusion is mine.” But the internet is like a tree that is growing.

You don’t have to march on Tiananmen, but you do have to be clear-minded, to find your own means of expression.

To experience poetry is to see over and above reality. It is to discover that which is beyond the physical, to experience another life and another level of feeling.

Many people are going to use [Beijing National Stadium], which makes it more meaningful. If we don’t design it, somebody else has to design it.

Of course, people will call you an old artist or young artist, which is just a character of you.

I think it’s quite narrow-minded. There wasn’t much encouragement or opportunities for any artist – not just Chinese artists.

Behind every political deal in this country, the first casualties are always the ordinary people, who are barely treated as human.

Of course, most luxury goods in China are for corrupted officials and their relatives. And that made China become the biggest luxury-goods market.

Everything is art. Everything is politics.

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

Even today the borders they’re seeing the physical borders are very different from the political borders. Because all those powers are so connected, and you cannot even see whose interest in what move.

I’ll get laughs in the places I don’t want them and that makes me realize the direction I want to go in. I don’t mean to get too deep into comedy here.

This is getting funny, but there ain’t nobody laughing.

For my first show at ‘SNL’, I wrote a Bill Clinton sketch, and during our read-through, it wasn’t getting any laughs.

I love making people laugh. And I love laughing.

People are so sensitive, people are so defensive. I agree with you. We have to learn to loosen up, lighten up, and laugh a little bit.

Laugh at love and love will make you cry.

Make them laugh, and then make them listen.

Bittersweet is kind of my own favourite style because I want to be able to cry to the same song that I also can laugh to.