The rest of the world understands little about China’s changes and the possibilities and crises that come with them.
AI WEIWEIDestroy or build. Crazy or noncrazy. I’m not nostalgic about the old city. I don’t enjoy it that much.
More Ai Weiwei Quotes
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There’s no single artwork I even want to mention or that I can even really think about it to have any feeling, to be proud of it.
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China didn’t want to lose the cutting edge of technology. So the idea of having a Sina Weibo was an attempt to compete with Twitter. However, it has no soul – which is freedom of expression. Nevertheless,
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Chinese government is very clearly losing power in every aspect, but trying to fix up all the problems or potential problems.
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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.
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For me, it is OK as long as I can breathe, as long as my heart is pumping, as long as I can express myself.
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This so-called contemporary art is not a form, but a philosophy of society.
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You don’t have to march on Tiananmen, but you do have to be clear-minded, to find your own means of expression.
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The misconception of totalitarianism is that freedom can be imprisoned. This is not the case. When you constrain freedom, freedom will take flight and land on a windowsill.
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Through my work and ways of expression, I strive to engage in dialogue with the society that I am living in.
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Dictatorship is a story about death of others who turn out to be you coincidently.
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I don’t think I was very structured in that society and I don’t really believe in personal success, which most Americans believe in.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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I think by not letting young people be fully informed, how can they have energy and passion and the right picture of the world? I think that’s the true crime.
AI WEIWEI