“I don’t want the next generation to fight the same fight as I did.”

Maybe being powerful means to be fragile.

Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don’t feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy.

Any individual can contribute its own belief. And our society or even our government are made by the people. The people would have the final voice, but it requires each individual to act. If we don’t act, then the result is very clear.

I saw [Allen Ginsberg] more as an old man who liked poetry and who had a lot of physical and emotional problems. We liked our time together.

These are nonviolent people who have lost their freedom simply because they expressed their ideas….In truth, they are heroes of our time.

I will bring 1,001 Chinese to participate as my artwork there – any Chinese who is a Chinese passport holder and over eighteen years old could apply through my blog.

Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward.

I don’t think my father had a direct influence on me, but I do think, more or less, I was influenced by his independent individualism.

Chinese government is very clearly losing power in every aspect, but trying to fix up all the problems or potential problems.

The Internet changes the structure of society all the time — this massiveness made of individuals.

You can never know what is and what is not powerful, but you can always find out what the powerful people are scared of.

I’m an artist who is always looking for what is possible. I’m always looking to extend the boundaries.

When you have strict censorship of the internet, young students cannot receive a full education. Their view of the world is imbalanced. There can be no true discussion of the issues.

The rest of the world understands little about China’s changes and the possibilities and crises that come with them.

To the media, I have become a symbolic figure, critical of China. According to the government, I am a dangerous threat.

Hopefully, other successes aren’t like me. It carries much more meaning to other people; my success story is irrelevant. It doesn’t make any sense.

You’re only as much as you settle for. If they settle for being somebody’s dishwasher that’s their own f***ing problem.

I am troubled, immeasurably by your eyes. I am struck by the feather of your soft reply.

You must never tire fighting Satan.

Fighting fire with fire only gets you ashes!

At the same time the Muslims are commanded to exercise self-restraint as much as possible.

His [Ben Okri’s] work poses very serious questions for the twenty-first century. Among them:

It is every Muslim’s duty to fight those of a different belief until only Allah is worshipped around the world. Everybody has the opportunity to accept Allah and to change to the right path.

We go fish, we also catch fighting fish, looking for birds and it was for kampong people, the paddy field was our the play field for the children.