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We should use this public sphere and redefine – beyond China’s borders – what a government is allowed to do, where its powers end and where the realm of a citizen’s privacy begins.

Ai Weiwei

Destroy or build. Crazy or noncrazy. I’m not nostalgic about the old city. I don’t enjoy it that much.
AI WEIWEI

Cities Crazy Destroy Enjoy Much Nostalgic
The so-called culture nowadays is only a fake one with a superficial front. It is an empty lie.
AI WEIWEI

Culture Empty Fake Lie Lying Nowadays
The deadly weapon against totalitarian society is openness – doing everything very openly on the Internet, letting people know every detail, any little development. Once it is out there, everybody can make their own judgement.
AI WEIWEI

Deadly Everything Evil Internet Letting Openness People Thinking Weapon
Now you have the equal opportunity to equip yourself through information and knowledge and express yourself as an independent mind.
AI WEIWEI

Equal Equip Express Independent Information Knowledge Mind Opportunity
The world is not changing if you don’t shoulder the burden of responsibility.
AI WEIWEI

Burden Changing Responsibility Shoulder World
Whenever there is injustice, there is tension. But in China it is very hard to release your anger unless you burn yourself or you jump from a bridge. In a society where there is no freedom of the press, it is difficult for victims to be noticed.
AI WEIWEI

Anger Bridge Burn Injustice Release Tension Unless Victim
And who is going to win the competition if U.S. cannot hold a strong ideology? And even the U.S. would’ve lost the ground to win.
AI WEIWEI

Competition Ground Hold Ideology Lost Strong Win
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.
AI WEIWEI

Carries Hopefully Irrelevant Like More People Stories Story Success Successes
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
It also makes humanity much more safe. If we see pureness somewhere as something to be desired, the trouble starts.
AI WEIWEI

Desire Humanity Make Pureness Safe Something Trouble
Overturning police cars is a super-intense workout. It’s probably the only sport I enjoy.
AI WEIWEI

Car Enjoy Overturning Police Probably Sport Super-intense Workout
The media is the message. It carries the full intention and the meaning. Once you change it…it’s very disturbing.
AI WEIWEI

Carries Change Disturbing Intention Media Message
That’s why I always question this sense. The feeling of home really requires a lot of trust. It requires you to identify with it, which I always find myself very contradictory to.
AI WEIWEI

Contradictory Feeling Home Identity Question Require Sense Trust
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
If artists cannot speak up for human dignity or rights, then who else will do it?
AI WEIWEI

Artist Dignity Else Right Speak Then
Life is much more interesting when you make a little bit of effort.
AI WEIWEI

Effort Interesting Life Little Make More Much
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.
AI WEIWEI

Conclusion Mine People Quiet Saying Sentence Tree Voice
My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression, a new way of communication. It is never about exhibiting in museums or about hanging it on the wall.
AI WEIWEI

Art Communication Definition Expression Freedom Sound Wall Way
I never felt like a Chinese citizen because I was pushed away at a very young age. My father, a writer, was a national enemy of the Communist Party. He was forbidden to write for 20 years.
AI WEIWEI

Citizen Father Party Pushed Writer Writing Young
The fantasy we had with pearls was always so luxurious and unique with a kind of rareness.
AI WEIWEI

Always Fantasy Kind Luxurious Pearl Rareness Unique
To experience poetry is to see over and above reality. It is to discover that which is beyond the physical, to experience another life and another level of feeling.
AI WEIWEI

Above Beyond Experience Feeling Over People Physical Poetry Reality
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.
AI WEIWEI

Artwork Feeling Proud Relly Single Think Thinking Want
If there is no free speech, every single life has lived in vain
AI WEIWEI

Free Life Live Single Speech Vain
The Internet has established a public sphere and developed a pressure which the government can no longer ignore.
AI WEIWEI

Developed Established Government Ignored Internet Longer Pressure Sphere
You start to see the society, how it functions, how it works. Then you have a lot of criticism about how it works.
AI WEIWEI

Criticism Function Money Society Star Turn Work
Once you’ve tasted freedom, it stays in your heart and no one can take it. Then, you can be more powerful than a whole country.
AI WEIWEI

Country Freedom Heart More Powerful Take
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.
AI WEIWEI

Government Graduate Immense Job Million Problem Scramble Seven Solution

We should use this public sphere and redefine – beyond China’s borders – what a government is allowed to do, where its powers end and where the realm of a citizen’s privacy begins.

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We should use this public sphere and redefine – beyond China’s borders – what a government is allowed to do, where its powers end and where the realm of a citizen’s privacy begins.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Ai Weiwei Quotes