A society is healthy only when it allows its members to discuss their thoughts openly. This is also the only way that a society can gather consensus, let everyone express his or her wish, and foster creativity.
AI WEIWEIWe grew up in a very material-lacking socialist society, but today China is a capitalist society. It’s very materialistic. It’s full of desire and luxury goods.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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The jobs for 7 million university graduates every year, the immense corruption: Even some Western governments would have to scramble to find solutions to such problems.
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This so-called fame or being better off doesn’t really attract me at all.
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I think Allen [Ginsberg] was a person who’s like a child.
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Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.
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Maybe [success] is because I’m in China and I’m more open. Maybe it’s my independent behavior, or because I participated in certain projects. I have no idea.
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Now many enterprises are made by individuals, so the attitude has started to change.
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Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it.
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I’m doing quite a few things now. In one day, I will go to Kassel, Germany, for a documentary project I’ve been preparing for half a year.
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Life is much more interesting when you make a little bit of effort.
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I think to deal with the situation like human crisis, 65 million people being displaced, lost their home, and with such human tragedy, has to make every level of society to be conscious and to be alert about the situation.
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And the kind of condition he had when he was in this society – the kind of mistreatment society gave him.
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The relationship between the Chinese government and me is like a Cold War.
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I think the government regrets having Sina Weibo, but they cannot shut it down. That would definitely be suicidal.
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The society was so different [in China] – it was a feudalistic society. It didn’t come to a point of industrial revolution until twenty years ago.
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There are no outdoor sports as graceful as throwing stones at a dictatorship.
AI WEIWEI