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If civil society has nobody who protects the law, then what kind of society is that?

Ai Weiwei

Growing up, my family was an enemy of the state. I have experienced more disappointment than joy, much more sad stories or desperate conditions.
AI WEIWEI

Disappointment Enemy Experienced Family Growing Joy More Much Sate Up
I think of art as coming from daily life, daily experience. I think it’s very important not to have it become work for some kind of elite circle.
AI WEIWEI

Art Circle Coming Experience Important Thinking Work
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.
AI WEIWEI

Army Difference Election Importance Independent Judicial System Transparency
And the kind of condition he had when he was in this society – the kind of mistreatment society gave him.
AI WEIWEI

Condition Gave Kind Mistreatment Society
Somehow, we [ Tan Dun and director Chen Kaige] were all privileged at the time; we could be outside of China. But at the moment, we had no sense of what the future was going to be like.
AI WEIWEI

Country Director Future Going Moment Outside Priilied Somehow Time
I think U.S. and China is a big opportunity, to be seen as partner or some kind of strategic partner maybe. But those kind of powers have a way of getting too big, then we’ll have competition.
AI WEIWEI

Country Opportunity Partner Strategic Strong Winning
I think by shattering it we can create a new form, a new way to look at what is valuable – how we decide what is valuable.
AI WEIWEI

Decide Looks New Shattering Thinking Valuable 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
They see how dramatic U.S. has to be put this kind of shame on its own – cannot handle the situation. Or show such a difficulty with this liberal ideas. Men or women created equal. And to defend those very essential ideas.
AI WEIWEI

Defend Difficulty Dramatic Handle Idea Liberal Men Women Shame Show
A nation like China has become one of the biggest production fields for exporting cheap labor, which also re-questions our history and past, re-questions human desire, and the human illusions of the past.
AI WEIWEI

Biggest Cheap Country Desire Exporting Field Labor Past Production
Even if there have been setbacks during these past years, China is changing. China’s society is opening.
AI WEIWEI

Changing Country Opening Past Society Year
Behind every political deal in this country, the first casualties are always the ordinary people, who are barely treated as human.
AI WEIWEI

Barely Casulaities Country Deal People Political Treated
The leadership knows that you cannot solve the issues of China’s future with the means of the past. The demographic consequences of the one-child policy, the build-up of the welfare state.
AI WEIWEI

Children Country Future Issue Job Know Leadership Mean Solve
Everything is art. Everything is politics.
AI WEIWEI

Art Changing Everything Politics World
If my art has nothing to do with people’s pain and sorrow, what is ‘art’ for?
AI WEIWEI

Art Nothing Pain People Sorrow
The whole Chinese system – not just the political leadership, the military too, the whole power structure, our education system, the whole of society – is suffering from being cut off from the free flow of information.
AI WEIWEI

Country Cutting Educational Leadership Military Political Power Structure

If civil society has nobody who protects the law, then what kind of society is that?

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If civil society has nobody who protects the law, then what kind of society is that?

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