Ai Weiwei quotes
Ai Weiwei
Birthdate: 28. August 1957
Ai Weiwei is a Chinese contemporary artist and activist. His father's original surname was written Jiang . Ai collaborated with Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron as the artistic consultant on the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Olympics. As a political activist, he has been highly and openly critical of the Chinese Government's stance on democracy and human rights. He has investigated government corruption and cover-ups, in particular the Sichuan schools corruption scandal following the collapse of so-called "tofu-dreg schools" in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. In 2011, following his arrest at Beijing Capital International Airport on 3 April, he was held for 81 days without any official charges being filed; officials alluded to their allegations of "economic crimes".
Quotes Ai Weiwei
„Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.“
2000-09
Variant: Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.
„But every penny they borrowed or made from China has really come as a result of how this nation sacrificed everybody’s rights. With globalization and the Internet, we all know it.“
interview in Newsweek, 21 November 2011.
2010-, 2011
Context: Today, the West feels very shy about human rights and the political situation. They’re in need of money. But every penny they borrowed or made from China has really come as a result of how this nation sacrificed everybody’s rights. With globalization and the Internet, we all know it. Don’t pretend you don’t know it. The Western politicians—shame on them if they say they’re not responsible for this. It’s getting worse, and it will keep getting worse.
„From my experience dealing with Sichuan [after the 2008 earthquake] I started to understand very clearly the character of local government. They will do anything. You will never really wrongly accuse them of anything because they do everything.“
Branigan, Tania. “ Accounts Invaded, Computers Infected—Human Rights Activists Tell of Cyber Attacks http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/14/china-human-rights-activists-cyber-attack.” Guardian, January 14, 2010.
2010-, 2010
„In a society like this there is no negotiation, no discussion, except to tell you that power can crush you any time they want—not only you, your whole family and all people like you.“
“ At home: Ai Weiwei http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/6fdcaae6-5959-11e1-abf1-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1nQPAYr26..” Financial Times, February 24, 2012.
2010-, 2012
„I think restrictions are an essential condition in the fight for freedom of expression. It’s also a source for any kind of creativity.“
Solway, Diane. “Enforced Disappearance.” W Magazine, November 2011.
2010-, 2011
„The disaster-makers always get away, while the innocent are always punished.“
2000-09, Our Duty Is to Remember Sichuan, 2009
„Choices after waking up: To be true or to lie? To take action or be brainwashed? To be free or be jailed?“
Ai Weiwei Twitter feed: @AiWW (8:50 a.m. September 5, 2009)
2000-09, Twitter feeds, 2009
„The government computer has one button: delete.“
Zhang, Qichen. “ Ai Weiwei Says Censorship in China Will Ultimately Fail http://opennet.net/blog/2012/04/ai-weiwei-says-censorship-china-will-ultimately-fail.” Opennet, April 18, 2012.
2010-, 2012
„People have said, if you leave, you may never come back. Or they may not even let you leave. So this is always a cost you may have to pay. But I don’t want to restrict myself: When it happens, it happens. I have to deal with it, but not to prepare for it, because it is a kind of stupidity. If you prepare for it too much, you become a part of it.“
2010-, I have to speak for people who are afraid, 2010
„The world is a sphere, there is no East or West.“
“ No Fake: An Interview with Ai Weiwei http://www.portlandart.net/archives/2010/08/no_fake_an_inte.html.” Portland Art, September 8, 2010.
2010-, 2010
„The officials want China to be seen as a cultured, creative nation, but in this anti-liberal political society everything outside the direct control of the state is seen as a potential threat.“
2010-, China’s ‘Mozart’ Drops Off State Hit Parade, 2010
„This does not mean a meteor has fallen. This is the discovery of a star.“
Watts, Jonathan. “ Chinese Human Rights Activist Liu Xiaobo Sentenced to 11 Years in Jail http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/25/china-jails-liu-xiaobo.” Guardian, December 25, 2009.
2000-09, 2009
