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I have to respect my life, and free expression is part of my life. I can never really silence myself.

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
Really
Never
Life
Expression
Silence
Respect
Free
Part

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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If you just turn to your paper or television each day, there are thousands of stories that are much more shocking than the gallery artworks.
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As a total activity - I practice curating, art, architecture, writing, and publishing all together. I still act as a living creature.
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Dictatorship is a story about death of others who turn out to be you coincidently.
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For artists and intellectuals today, what is most needed is to be clear about social responsibility, because that is what most people automatically give up. Just to protect yourself as an individual is very political. You don't have to march on Tiananmen, but you do have to be clear-minded, to find your own means of expression.
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China spends a lot of resources and effort on gaining soft power over culture. The hope is that it can be the last lifeline for the Party's survival. Obviously, the idea will fail.
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If artists cannot speak up for human dignity or rights, then who else will do it?
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China has not established the rule of law and if there is a power above the law there is no social justice. Everybody can be subjected to harm. I'm just a citizen: my life is equal in value to any other. But I'm thankful that when I lost my freedom so many people shared feelings and put such touching effort into helping me.
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Without freedom of speech, there is no modern world, just a barbaric one.
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China has a rich history that has spanned millennia. It consists of the histories of many nations and regions.
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I spend a lot of time talking to journalists.
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The rest of the world understands little about China's changes and the possibilities and crises that come with them.
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In my life, I often make so-called major decisions by very quick, immediate responses.
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My understanding of Chinese history is limited. So far, I have only scratched its surface I wish I could find out more.
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Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.
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The world is sphere, has no East or West.
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China hasn't only existed for one day. Now, the whole nation has become richer and it's become a problem. The problem is universal. The factor is big. Everybody has to rethink the balance of the world and the whole landscape.
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Technology is a liberation. I think the information age probably is the best thing to happen to the human race in human evolution. Now you have the equal opportunity to equip yourself through information and knowledge and express yourself as an independent mind.
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A city is a place that can offer maximum freedom. Otherwise it’s incomplete.
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Stupidity can win for a moment, but it can never really succeed because the nature of humans is to seek freedom. Rulers can delay that freedom, but they cannot stop it.
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Life is never guaranteed to be safe, so we better use it while we are still in good condition.
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