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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

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Ai Weiwei
Age: 67
Born: 1957
Born: May 18
Architect
Consultant
Contemporary Artist
Designer
Film Director
Human Rights Activist
Painter
Photographer
Sculptor
Social Activist
Peking
Wei-wei Ai
Weiwei Ai
Ai Wei Wei
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International
Multiple
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Hundreds
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Chinese
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My situation gives me certain ideas about beauty or the excitement of life, but that doesn't mean other people can necessarily appreciate it.
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If a society cannot even support somebody like me, then people ask: Who is under protection then? That's why there is such support for me. It is not because I am so beautiful or I am so charming. People feel: This guy is fighting for us.
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My angst and my insecurity reflect the state's angst and insecurity. The state is scared too.
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I can still wake up the next day and feel that there's something that needs to be done, which always amuses me.
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A lot of the time [in the U.S.], I was thinking about how spending time is always questionable or is always the biggest obstacle in my life.
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These are nonviolent people who have lost their freedom simply because they expressed their ideas….In truth, they are heroes of our time.
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Freedom of speech implies the world isn’t defined. It is meaningful when people are allowed to see the world their way.
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Only with the Internet can a peasant I have never met hear my voice and I can learn what's on his mind. A fairy tale has come true.
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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.
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It's really rubbish that some kind of technical learning means you will be a better person because you know this skill better.
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Historically, China is not a nation of sportsmen. We traditionally put more emphasis on being close to nature than pushing endlessly to excel. A philosophy that values tranquil contemplation of the landscape cannot easily be adapted to the Olympic slogan of 'higher, stronger, faster.'
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It's always nice to share your energy with young people, the people who might not have any skills but are simply willing to be a part of it.
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For all the tough talk about China during the presidential debates, Romney and Obama evaded any mention of China's suspect human rights record, corruption, and rule of law. By not tackling these controversial topics, the candidates are protecting a strategic partnership with China at the expense of essential human values and beliefs.
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Dont retreat. Retweet!
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Life is art. Art is life. I never separate it. I don’t feel that much anger. I equally have a lot of joy.
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I think by shattering it we can create a new form, a new way to look at what is valuable — how we decide what is valuable.
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Art is always about overcoming obstacles between the inner condition and the skill for expression.
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We should use this public sphere and redefine - beyond China's borders - what a government is allowed to do, where its powers end and where the realm of a citizen's privacy begins.
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Everything is art. Everything is politics.
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I think optimism is whether you are still exhilarated by life, whether you are curious, whether you still believe there is possibility.
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