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China and the U.S. are two societies with very different attitudes towards opinion and criticism. In China, I am constantly under surveillance. Even my slightest, most innocuous move can - and often is - censored by Chinese authorities. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#attitudes #authorities #censored #china #chinese

For me, it is OK as long as I can breathe, as long as my heart is pumping, as long as I can express myself. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#express #heart #i #i can #long

Now the British are coming. I think Cameron should ask the Chinese government not to make people 'disappear' or to jail them merely because they have different opinions. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#because #british #cameron #chinese #chinese government

I love going to movies. It's just big, it takes you away, you can escape into it. ↗

— Tom Welling

#big #escape #going #i #i love

This week, the world gathers in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic games. This is the extraordinary moment China has been dreaming of for 100 years. People have been longing for this moment, because it symbolises a turning point in China's relationship with the outside world. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#because #been #beijing #china #dreaming

We see the tendency in the world to criticise democracy and sometimes even to say that authoritarian countries like China are more efficient. That is very short-sighted. China looks efficient only because it can sacrifice most people's rights. This is not something the west should be happy about. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#authoritarian #be happy #because #china #countries

Widespread state control over art and culture has left no room for freedom of expression in the country. For more than 60 years, anyone with a dissenting opinion has been suppressed. Chinese art is merely a product: it avoids any meaningful engagement. There is no larger context. Its only purpose is to charm viewers with its ambiguity. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#any #anyone #art #avoids #been

Oh yes, I love to do shoes. I'm not a fetishist but I love to do shoes. ↗

— Karl Lagerfeld

#i love #love #oh #shoes #yes

The problem is the following, black music is increasing encumbered by white elements, often pleasant but always superfluous, easily and advantageously replaced with black elements. ↗

— Boris Vian

#black #black music #easily #elements #following

One of the things I give Nancy Pelosi a lot of credit for is that she's able to get things passed and hold her members together because she shows us that she's doing everything possible to get our views into these bills. ↗

— Peter Welch

#because #bills #credit #doing #everything