#or

Chinese citizens have never had the right to really express their opinions; in the constitution it says you can, but in the real world it is more dangerous. In the west people think it's a right they're born with. Here it's a right given by the government, and one that's not really practised. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#chinese #citizens #constitution #dangerous #express

I call on people to be 'obsessed citizens,' forever questioning and asking for accountability. That's the only chance we have today of a healthy and happy life. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#asking #call #chance #citizens #forever

I don't think it's worth discussing new directions in the context of Chinese art - there were no old directions, either. Chinese art has never had any clear orientation. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#art #chinese #clear #context #directions

I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our proposal won the competition. From beginning to end, I stayed with the project. I am committed to fostering relationships between a city and its architecture. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#am #architectural #architecture #beginning #beijing

What I had to do was keep the story within certain limits of what was, of course, plausible. ↗

— Arthur Golden

#course #had #i #keep #limits

I think Chinese leadership is trying to tell the world they have another set of logic or reasoning or values which are different from yours. Of course, I don't think they believe that. It's just an argument that's made when you can't confront the truth and facts. They really want to maintain power. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#argument #believe #chinese #confront #course

If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for? ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#nothing #pain #people #sorrow

Miracles sometimes occur, but one has to work terribly hard for them. ↗

— Chaim Weizmann

#miracles #occur #sometimes #terribly #them

Recently I danced in a video spoof of the song 'Gangnam Style,' and it was quickly banned across multiple Chinese online video platforms. But the story still traveled all over the world, carried in hundreds of international media reports. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#banned #carried #chinese #danced #hundreds

Since the global economic crisis began, the change in global attitudes is clear to see - and I think it is pitiful. Barack Obama came to China and he is probably the only president of the United States never to mention the words 'human rights' in public. ↗

— Ai Weiwei

#barack #barack obama #began #came #change