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I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn’t move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.

Ai Weiwei

For artists and intellectuals today, what is most needed is to be clear about social responsibility, because that is what most people automatically give up. Just to protect yourself as an individual is very political.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Giving Up Intellectual Mean Needed Responsibility Social
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
Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward.
AI WEIWEI

Censorship Forward Hopeless Insulting Self Timidity Way
Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don’t feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy.
AI WEIWEI

Anger Art Equality Express Joy Life Much Separate
China hasn’t only existed for one day. Now, the whole nation has become richer and it’s become a problem. The problem is universal. The factor is big. Everybody has to rethink the balance of the world and the whole landscape.
AI WEIWEI

Balance Existed Nation One Day Problem Richer Whole World
If civil society has nobody who protects the law, then what kind of society is that?
AI WEIWEI

Kind Law Nobody Protect Society
China is at a different stage of development, human rights are violated here much more often. And still, we see improvements even here.
AI WEIWEI

Country Development Different Improvement Indifferent More Much Right
Man has a tendency to try to give clear reasons to be rational, but often you can see how all those reasons are not convincing and turn out to be a big nonsense.
AI WEIWEI

Clear Giving Man Often Rational Reaction Reason Tendency Trying
I think China is laughing about the results of the presidential elections. China, Russia, they all laugh about it.
AI WEIWEI

Country Election Laughing Man Presidential Thinking
It is not an easy job to govern China, I am aware of that. There are crises and emergencies all the time, we might not even be aware of some. But I am afraid we’ll have to wait and observe precisely what the government is up to.
AI WEIWEI

Crises Easy Emergencies Government Job Time Waiting
I think art is a very important weapon to achieve human freedom
AI WEIWEI

Achieve Art Freedom Human Important Thinking Weapon
Even though everybody who looked at me would call me a Chinese artist, that’s the 1980s. New York in the ’80s was not so interesting.
AI WEIWEI

Artist Encouragement New York
I never think any place is better than others.
AI WEIWEI

Better Place Think Thinking
People who can’t do that don’t get a sense of responsibility. And if you lack a sense of responsibility, you push the blame onto the system.
AI WEIWEI

Blame People Responsibility Sense System
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
For those actors and directors who produce films which are always about the old kingdom or about heroes.
AI WEIWEI

Actor Film Hero Kingdom Lying Old Real

I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn’t move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.

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I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn’t move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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