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China seems unpredictable because it has a distinct culture and social system. It is still a mystery to other parts of the world, even though the veil of China has been lifted many times as a result of globalization.

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
Culture
Parts
Social
China
Stills
Result
Veil
Seems
Mystery
Lifted
Still
System
Veils
Many
Results
Distinct
Even
Though
Globalization
World
Times
Unpredictable

More quotes by Ai Weiwei

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Self-censorship is insulting to the self. Timidity is a hopeless way forward.
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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.
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Art should live in the heart of the people. Ordinary people should have the same ability to understand art as anybody else. I don't think art is elite or mysterious.
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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.
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Twitter is the people’s tool, the tool of the ordinary people, people who have no other resources.
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Of course, there [in China] has to be chaos. It has to be crazy, and I don't think there's anything wrong about it except this government, which is really incapable of doing anything meaningful.
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If people are being abused or even killed during an arrest, this is highly disturbing.
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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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I think by not letting young people be fully informed, how can they have energy and passion and the right picture of the world? I think that's the true crime.
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When I first got into the first-year study after the Cultural Revolution, got into the same school with this group, I wasn't conscious of the so-called Fifth Generation. I didn't like that kind of study condition because there's no real, true education there.
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So-called Chinese art and culture is under control of the Party. They exist to serve the official agenda. I call it fake art and culture.
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My definition of art has always been the same. It is about freedom of expression. I don’t think anybody can separate art from politics. The intention to separate [the two] is itself a very political intention.
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If Shakespeare were alive today, he might be writing on Twitter.
Ai Weiwei
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Twitter is most suitable for me. In the Chinese language, 140 characters is a novella.
Ai Weiwei
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I always want to design a frame that’s open to everyone. I don’t see art as a secret code.
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Every day I'm learning something new from the practice. It's very rewarding.
Ai Weiwei
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Of course, most luxury goods in China are for corrupted officials and their relatives. And that made China become the biggest luxury-goods market. In this kind of dictatorship, in this kind of totalitarian society, it is easy to make deals that you cannot make in a democratic society.
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The fantasy we had with pearls was always so luxurious and unique with a kind of rareness.
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A society is healthy only when it allows its members to discuss their thoughts openly. This is also the only way that a society can gather consensus, let everyone express his or her wish, and foster creativity.
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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.
Ai Weiwei