Ai Weiwei quotes - page 5

The fundamental problem is not that there are limits on voicing different opinions here. The problem is that the whole society is dying through lack of responsibility or involvement. (Ai Weiwei)
My blog is an extension of my thinking. Why should I deform my thinking simply because I live under a government that espouses an ideology which I believe to be totally against humanity? View quote
Ai Weiwei
A land that rejects the truth, barricades itself against change and lacks the spirit of freedom is hopeless. View quote
Ai Weiwei
What can they do besides exile [me] or make me disappear? They have no imagination or creativity. View quote
Ai Weiwei
My messages are temporary and shouldn't be our permanent condition. And like the wind it will pass. We'll have another wind coming. View quote
Ai Weiwei
I'm so fearful, that's not fearless... I act more brave because I know the danger's really there. If you don't act, the danger becomes stronger. View quote
Ai Weiwei
China [is a] society which forbids any flow of the information and freedom of speech. This is on record, so everybody should know this. View quote
Ai Weiwei
My favorite word? It's 'act. View quote
Ai Weiwei
The only reason they put me in jail is my involvement in politics, my criticism of the authorities. Later the excuse for my detention became my "tax problem.” But internally they never told me anything about it. I don't want to underestimate their intelligence, but up to this day I think what they did is very stupid. In fact, they even helped me in an ironic sense. They gave me a chance to explain what is happening with this system. They provided such a platform for me. View quote
Ai Weiwei
[With] 140 words in Chinese, you really can write a novel. Most of Confucius's sentences [are] only four words, so 140 words [might] take his whole life to write. And you can discuss the most profound ideas related to democracy, freedom, poetry. View quote
Ai Weiwei
China might seem quite successful in its controls, but it has only raised the water level. It's like building a dam: it thinks there is more water so it will build higher. But every drop of water is still in there. It doesn't understand how to let the pressure out. It builds up a way to maintain control and push the problem to the next generation. (Ai Weiwei)
They tell us it will be about "emotions” and "friendship,” that it will be a night of joy. Who are they kidding? View quote
Ai Weiwei
The 81 days of detention were a nightmare. I am not unique; it happened to many people in China. Conditions were extreme, created by a system that thinks it is above the law and has become a kind of monstrous machine. There were so many moments when I felt desperate and hopeless. But still, the next morning, I heard the birds singing. View quote
Ai Weiwei
Later I became very involved in writing. I really enjoyed that moment of writing. People would pass around my sentences. That was a feeling I never had before. It was like a bullet out of the gun. View quote
Ai Weiwei
It is as difficult [for Chinese politicians] to get a real smile [from the people] as it is to keep the sky blue and clouds white. View quote
Ai Weiwei
I want to prove that the system is not working..... You can't simply say that the system is not working. You have to work through it. View quote
Ai Weiwei
My current situation is, I always want to find a new possibility. China is in a changing stage, and that puts me in a very difficult situation, because anytime a new condition is announced there is a lot of struggle between the new and the old. So the establishment really becomes extremely nervous because they are refusing to meet very basic human rights or values. I don't know how long I can still struggle in China, but I will try my best. Because this is a land I am very familiar with, and we have been in the same kind of struggle for generations. I think it's a time for change. View quote
Ai Weiwei
This simple form of repression, of using the method of not letting anyone speak, will never succeed. View quote
Ai Weiwei
No matter how long our politicians order people to sing songs of praise, no matter how many fireworks they launch into the heavens, and no matter how many foreign leaders they embrace, they cannot arouse a genuine mood of joy and celebration among the people. View quote
Ai Weiwei
I think China is in a chaos now and it could be more chaos. It's an orderly chaos. It's a party that ruthlessly violates every human's basic rights to serve its own purpose. View quote
Ai Weiwei
To what degree does it help us to change our life, or even to sense our existence, to really evaluate "why?” I think those questions cannot be escaped. Sometimes in history it's more hidden; somewhere these can be very personal and individual questions. But in certain times and certain places, your existence has to be associated with other people's situations. You have to make a reaction to the living conditions. It's not avoidable. You cannot just be blind about what is happening there. Such is the case in China. (Ai Weiwei)
[People] always tell me, "Weiwei, leave the nation, please.” Or "Live longer and watch them die.” Either leave, or be patient and watch how they die. I really don't know what I'm going to do. View quote
Ai Weiwei
Do they want me to stay? Do they want me to leave? Do they want me to hang myself? To kill myself? What do they want? View quote
Ai Weiwei
I've never planned any part of my career-except being an artist. And I was pushed into that corner because I thought being an artist was the only way to have a little freedom. View quote
Ai Weiwei
I see myself not as a leader but as somebody who initiates things or finds the problem or provokes a discussion. You have to be always ready to engage, willing to participate. When events or history happen, you just have to be aware and respond. View quote
Ai Weiwei