Ai Weiwei Quotes

As a person, I was born to give out my opinions. By giving out my opinions, I realize who I am.

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.

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

We 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.

I never had secure, belonging feelings with this society [in China].

[Therefore] holding a trial outside the court. I think that is fairness, that is justice, that is a civil society. Otherwise call it an evil society because everything is hidden.

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.

Liberty is about our rights to question everything.

China restricts the society’s freedom of speech. The Communist Party imposes these limits because it lacks confidence towards the future and has no ideals.

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.