“But censorship by itself doesn’t work. It is, as Mao said, about the pen and the gun.”

—  Ai Weiwei

2010-, China’s Censorship Can Never Defeat the Internet, 2012

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "But censorship by itself doesn’t work. It is, as Mao said, about the pen and the gun." by Ai Weiwei?
Ai Weiwei photo
Ai Weiwei218
Chinese concept artist 1957

Related quotes

Stephen Colbert photo

“The pen is mightier than the sword, if you shoot that pen out of a gun”

Stephen Colbert (1964) American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor

Tony Benn photo

“Had a long talk to the Chinese First Secretary at the embassy — a very charming man called Liao Dong — and said how much I admired Mao Tse tung or Zedong, the greatest man of the twentieth century. He said that I couldn't admire Mao more than he did. I asked him how Mao was viewed now. He said Mao was 70 per cent right and 30 per cent wrong; the Cultural Revolution didn't work. He said he had been named after Mao — it was amusing.”

Tony Benn (1925–2014) British Labour Party politician

Journal entry for 6 June 1996 in Free at Last!: Diaries, 1991-2001 (2003) p. 371
1990s

Seamus Heaney photo

“Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.”

Seamus Heaney (1939–2013) Irish poet, playwright, translator, lecturer

Source: Opened Ground: Selected Poems, 1966-1996

Derek Landy photo

“Honesty is, honestly, the best policy,” said Saracen. “But when honesty doesn’t work, lie, and lie convincingly.”

Derek Landy (1974) Irish children's writer

Source: The Dying of the Light

Jerry Coyne photo

“Remember three things about censorship. First, it doesn’t work to suppress art or words that you don’t like. Second, trying to censor something just arouses interest in it, as well as resentment towards those who try to tell others what they can or cannot see. Third, exhibiting art or recommending that students read a book does not mean an endorsement of the image or contents.”

Jerry Coyne (1949) American biologist

" National Coalition Against Censorship and PEN defend Met’s showing of a “controversial” painting https://whyevolutionistrue.wordpress.com/2017/12/09/national-coalition-against-censorship-and-pen-defend-mets-showing-of-a-controversial-painting/" December 9, 2017

Newton Lee photo

“Thanks to the Internet, words can travel at the speed of light, and no amount of censorship can stop the flow of information. … Thanks to Malala’s courage, no militant can silence her. Thanks to the Internet, the pen is mightier than the sword.”

Newton Lee American computer scientist

Facebook Nation: Total Information Awareness (2nd Edition), 2014

Alex Jones photo

“Hitler took the guns, Stalin took the guns, Mao took the guns, Fidel Castro took the guns, Hugo Chávez took the guns. And I am here to tell you, 1776 will commence again if you try to take our firearms! It doesn't matter how many lemmings you get out there on the street begging for them to have their guns taken; we will not relinquish them, do you understand? That's why you're going to fail, and the establishment knows, no matter how much propaganda, the Republic will rise again when you attempt to take our guns!”

Alex Jones (1974) American radio host, author, conspiracy theorist and filmmaker

Alex Jones on Piers Morgan Tonight http://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1301/12/pmt.01.html debating gun control, CNN, 7 January 2013 ( video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XZvMwcluEg). <br class="br">2013

Robert LeFevre photo

“All governments behave like any other instrument of war and terror. A gun doesn’t change it nature. When it is aimed at someone you fear or dislike, you will praise the importance of guns. When the gun is aimed at you, you will call for help against those who use guns.”

Robert LeFevre (1911–1986) American libertarian businessman

Source: A Way to Be Free: The Autobiography of Robert LeFevre, Volume I, (1999), p. 136

“Owning a gun doesn’t make someone a “shooter” any more than owning a surfboard makes someone a surfer.”

James Wesley Rawles (1960) Survivalist-fiction author and blogger

Source: How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It, Plume, New York (2009), p. 15

“Most girls like play pretties, but you like guns, don’t you?
I don't care a thing in the world about guns. If I did I would have one that worked.”

Charles Portis book True Grit

Source: True Grit (1968), Chapter 7, p. 178 : exchange between 'Lucky Ned Pepper' and 'Mattie Ross'

Related topics