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Ai Weiwei

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63
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2026-03-23
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2026-03-23
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  1. “Switzerland, which completely very hard to settle. You know, even for me, not as that kind of refuge is still very hard for me to settle. So we have to have compassion and to understand. They escaped the war and the famine, and who caused those war and famine? We have to really question ourselves why we don't help them to stay at their home.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  2. “Yeah, this is very question with such a complex level. Now we are dealing something like Les is a cancer. In the West we always think that cancer we have to cut it off. We have to use all kind of treatment. But it's Chinese medicine we think we have to provide that become a cancer as a living style. That's some kind of philosophy and what you eat, what you're behaving. So prevent that it's much more important than to just treat it as a Chinese medicines philosophy. I totally agree with refugee situation we have to look at the history of why so many people have to proud themselves with their family. Their language, their tradition, their religion come to some place like Germany or”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  3. “Thank you for mentioning those details because you are a profound scholar in terms of history. I only care from my experience when during cultural revolution, although very end, Chemo had an idea or the educated university students should go back to factory and farmer. They said this is a much bigger world and you can do so many things when you are there. At the beginning people do not really understand, but I do understand President Xi has been working in the very bottom. I grew up in the very bottom. So I think what teaches the most is not school, but really about society, about people, about struggle from the bottom.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  4. “Returning Ukraine, they also kept themselves as a neutral position. They are not really support Russian. They are associated with Russian because geopolitics is. Know because US, also because West, we saw NATO with the US, there's no such war. So this is clear.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  5. “Assessment only because I'm not in the same position. I'm as individual artist, he's taking care of this big state. But from foreign policy, I would agree with him, not him, but China's national policy in relation to Middle East, in relation to world peace, in relation to nobody should or interfere other nations business not like US, not like Britain.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  6. “Yet his father also punished for a while. But, you know, that's in revolution, being polished, being purged or it's not exactly a bad thing, you know, because it's too many struggles in different moments. I cannot give personal adjustment about him.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  7. “We are about the same generation. He's three years older than me. I don't even know him. Father under my father are a close friend. And of course we are”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  8. “Chinese idea about a scholar rather is not just to help to build your inner strengths, but also to serve the mass, to serve the people. So in old time, all the kin and the scholars only have one goal to serve the bigger purpose, can be poet, can be writer, they all write calligraphy, they all have a deep understanding of past. always been considered as a high spiritual.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  9. “I think it is absolutely most important idea of an individual can Be proud of is to be an independent thinker and to act on your belief.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  10. “Well, I'm a global Not even citizen. Citizen means you have certain rights to be called a citizen. I don't know a creature which maybe must fit into my ideology would be the moon.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  11. “Corruption I'm not entitled to tell about corruption because I know very little about corruption, but I would say certainly be huge corruption because you heard his personal gaining of profit could be, I don't know, his number. It's hard to remember 3 billion or something. But I don't know, you can call it corruption or it's just a political gain.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  12. “I think it's the best product of American culture, capitalism, come to a clear, nude. Ideology would make a deal, art of a deal. So all he concentrated is about deal. It's not no ideology, no philosophy, but let's see what kind of deal comes out.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  13. “I think it's truly a phenomenon someone being elected than someone being dunked and someone being elected again, that we call it democratic practice, right”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  14. “Well, I don't sound like anybody. I just based on facts, there's 1,200 people in jail because based on the so-called hate speech.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  15. “One job is Cambridge. Give a talk, this one Western boy threw the shoe to him, if you still remember that incident. Of course, that is quite shocking for Chinese Public official, but through our shoes to State leader does not start from that boy, but a journalist through the shows of a bush when he gave a talk. And that journalist was being put in jail for years. Know that. So let's check on the facts. So I'm a good journalist. I try to make myself balanced view. And, you know, if you check on the British record, there's over 1,200 people been put in jail over so-called hate speech in just recent studies.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  16. “China has a lot of a sense to do to fill up the gap between 1900 to this 120 years. And they have been in such up and down tremendous unthinkable ideology switch from feudalism or communist, then it becomes a post-state. You cannot call it communist, but you cannot call it capitalism. So it's really a new society. So they have a lot to learn and they have a lot to catch up.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  17. “Not true. I think he loves me. I loved him. You know, this is blood situation, but he doesn't speak to me. I haven't speak to my father for 12 years when I was in the United States. I haven't much spoke to my mom from previous 10 years, but still they are my family.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  18. “Oh, yes, literally. Why? Well, I think many parents would answer your question. They call it some kind of teenage. Yeah, but I never even heard about that before. You can be rebelling, but not in this kind of completely sense. But I feel happy proud about him. I said, yes, you can go as far as you can. That means that's what I want. I don't want you just trying to pay some kind of fake respect to me, but just go as far as you can, you know.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  19. “A sense of these different countries. People always ask are you in Germany? I spent six years in Germany only my son studies there. So daily at six o'clock sent him to Sugo 3 o'clock, I take him back. That's father's responsibility. He already totally forgot about that part. Now he's in Britain and he's such a well-educated gentleman, 17 years old, and he refused to talk to me anymore. You know, all the teenagers.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  20. “You know that clearly Is more than equipment. It's much harsh situation in Gaza. You know what happens? All the women and children being killed. Uyghur has not been killed in this kind of education. In Chinese world, they are being trained with some skills, with some propaganda education. For them, it's what they did to me.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  21. “I think the West about Uyghurs also is a problem. Because you clearly put concentration camps to use a name, we know conceptually use certain names which has to clearly talk about something else. And the Uyghur has been re-educated in some areas, but not as Uighur, for me. My father as a Han dynasty people. Come much earlier than Uyghurs being re educated in 1957. The West's concept about that is really... Not respectful because your choosing topics rather than giving even hands about the situation. That means you don't have integrity in what are you talking about. That's why I keep criticizing the week.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  22. “It's so uncomfortable after even yesterday I criticized the. You know, I said something the West have no moral position even to pose fingers to China because just look at the mirror, what you did in past years. in relation to all the international events, in relation to Israel-Gaza events, in relation to almost every respect. What is really being openly discussed?”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  23. “Yeah, yeah, y Yeah no come on, we all know what's going on, but the fire is still not open, you know, the only possibility like Wikis can open. That guy even can commit suicide in jail can believe it. And they said the camera is not working. Come on, we have six, eight cameras here.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  24. “Know how long Julian Sang has been in British jail? I visited the jail. I visited court. I visited embassy when he was hiding. I know exactly the whole case. He was pulled out by British agent from the embassy. That is already a pretty strange image. Everybody will remember he was carried out. Then he was being put there without those highway public pressure, he can end up his life in there. So then now you ask what kind of crime he really made, you know, so-called these WikiLeaks platform. Today, everybody has a, you know, it's not that he's just a little bit early trying to expose. But without that, even the file related to this island.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  25. “So, this is very established capitalism society media and the education and it's all being controlled so well and to tell you what is wrong, what is right, which is not so different from the Chinese society except it seems yes you can have some voice but your voice can never really be heard.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  26. “Well, I started early when US invade Iraq that time I was in New York. I was in part of this anti-war coverage. I take my photos and the demonstration. I realized the one demonstrate have less people than the police. Police on the two sides of the street for the bypasser you cannot even see demonstrators only see police there. So you can see this is typical police state. You would allow people to demonstrate, but there always can never be really covered or even those act up, you know, those gays demonstration can never be heard. They have to find a strategy to run it on highway to stop the highway then journalists would report the incident.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  27. “Simple. They just want to, I think mainly scare me. I'm not scared, but I thought it was some kind of black humor because why you have to put a black hole on me and send me to some unknown location and not to let me get in touch with my family and give me a very intensive interrogation, ask all kind of funny questions. I'm not scared, but I feel sorry for my son. He's only two years old. So I feel one interrogator tells me when you serve your sentence, could be 10 to 13 years. When you come out, your song will never recognize you. But it's scary to me. I feel deeply sorry at the assumption which is very irresponsible to someone else”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  28. “You only have one hour, right? Men always have a perspective of time and space. Detention simply should come to me because I've been too wild. And with my ideology of what I'm writing, I can be easily punished as death sentence during the cultural revolution 100 times quote of their words. You can be really killed hundred times if just 10, 10 years earlier. Yes, I... Detention comes to me which I can predict, but at the same time I kind of feel Satisfied because I was always jealous my father, he was sentenced for six years in his twenties. I think anybody in fighting for aesthetics or ideology being sentenced early is really something can be proud of. So Ikesin can never reach that point. I think 80 years later, I cannot predict our be kidnapped by state. And putting this secret detention for 81 days. So the story is pretty...”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  29. “Because people keep asking me your artists like my interrogator during my detention, they sent away your artist and why you're doing the work lawyers should do or journalists should do. And you're even doing better than them. I said maybe I'm not artist. So that's, I think the people's idea about who is artist and how artists should perform which doesn't really fit me.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  30. “Unfortunately, we have happiness and we have sadness is both human emotions. And I'm leaving a period of time and location. I see those tragic sadness related to individuals very often being not to talk about. So as artists, I or not artists, as human beings, have to protect my integrity of, you know, a fellow human being being hurt. I have to really pronounce it and let people know what I feel about it. So not really to social justice. And for me, it's really for myself. Have to do it I don't have a choice.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  31. “I did. I did this miracle. We did it. We located 5,219 students named Birsley, which school under their family. I daily opposed this online. That generates so much attention because the government is so shy to see everyday sky put 1 to 100 names there, newly found. And the government local government is shaking because this guy is ruthless. and they don't know how to stop me till one day the shut off my internet”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  32. “in Ventua area in Sichuan. During that time, it just maybe a few minutes of shaking. That's about A-level of earthquake killed about 70 to 80,000 people. And of course, everybody said, but same time they all blame this is a natural disaster. What are you going to do about it? But I realize many buildings around the school are not even collapsed. But those school collapsed, 5,000 more people, students disappeared, but government never answered me. I made 100 phone calls to ask this. They said, no, no, no, this is national secret. And why you have to know it? And are you American spy or something? I said, What are you talking about? So online, because I'm very active announced I will personally find those names.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  33. “After that, every day I would write three four articles, openly discuss anything. Nobody wants to even discuss. So I just opened the newspaper, see some topic, give my opinion till one day I started to investigate Situan earthquake, the disappearing of the 5,335 children. And before that, I was involved in design of. Olympic Stadium for 2008. So all those Nobody ever would openly talk. And he's so gutsy. At the same time, his design is most glamorous stadium.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  34. “So that's just the same question if AI happens, or what are all those people who do? So yeah, I built my studio. Suddenly that studio becomes some kind of landmark in China because nobody builds studio like that. Nobody even knows what the studio looked like and all the architecture magazine internationally reported. I become a spokesperson with a new idea and a new style and new society. They invite me to be on internet. I said no no I don't touch computer. I don't know how to type Chinese words even they said with your, you're so smart you can learn quickly They're right I quickly learned it the first sentence I put on there is to express yourself need a reason but to express yourself is a reason that takes me two days to sink water First, where put on the internet, but that's a good starting point.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  35. “Not so suddenly. I will never become like Zata. It's first I build my own studio after my mom kicked me out. I have to find a place to live. I don't want to live in an apartment since I come back from New York. I have a dream to build my studio. I went to a village. They said, oh yeah, you can rent the land because the land grows vegetables can never make as much money as renting. So I said, yeah, that makes sense, you know. Then I didn't think if I rent the land, what those farmers will do?”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  36. “I did everything you can imagine. I was babysitter. I was fixing antique furniture. I do house painting or construction work. I work in printing factory. I worked in freeming shops. Also, I played Blackjack in Tashmaho of Tom casino. I give fingers to that too that time. Yeah, I do everything. And I was street portraits.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  37. “You didn't get a I was hanging on street in Lori's side with all the homeless drug dealers and it's kind of dangerous, dark area, not like today is very fashionable. I live on 3rd Street between Avenue A and B. If people ask me where you live, I tell them address, they suddenly become a salon. Would not ask another question. So, which makes me very”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  38. “I also play poker game and I like card game, you know, so then I have an hashtag to do until my mom said never went to United States. You know, what have you learned? I have no idea. You have no American passport. You never get a university degree. You don't even know how to drive a car. You know, you never married. What's wrong with you? Please move out because my brother all the time. She hated. She thinks this boy is just complete waste.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  39. “So then I have an asshole to do. My father told me, hey, this is your home. You don't have to act like a guest. You should do whatever you want to do. And I still cannot adjust myself. I still become a guest of my country because the country never have any nostalgia feeling about it. All I have is bad feelings. And then China has already moved forward to become a much progressive society under Deng Xiaoping's slogan, let's become rich first. That's all his idea. The idea affect China till now. So it's very simple, very practical man, Deng Xiaoping and smart play poker. Game all the time, and that's the interesting part about him, he likes to play poker game.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  40. “Exactly freedom, you have to really establish yourself under meet this personal competition and challenge and become successful or establish something so-called to secure yourself. I don't like that that much, you know, because too much effort you will put in. And I know I will never become a so-called successful artist. It's only 50 in the whole United States and the rest is just endless struggle will disappear somehow. So by 1993, I found an excuse to go back because my father was terribly ill. Under 12 years, I haven't seen him. I was promising never go back, but I broke my words. I said, this is a last chance I've excuse to go back. So I moved back. To China”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  41. “You're talking about 30 years of history. I went to the United States first when I was 24. And I studied in New York for a short time. And let me make short, I was very poor, I was a foreigner. I don't speak words of English. And the first words I learned is excuse me. I think that is so difficult for me to excuse me. But my girlfriend said, you have to see this if you in supermarket pulling a car somewhere, then I don't feel very comfortable in United States. You know, it's so much free and nobody can really tell me what to do, but that also pretty bad because you don't know what to do. For me, I really understand this so-called freedom. It's not...”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  42. “Landlord in that time not just someone trying to get money or land but rather a very educated class they all learn calligraphy, writing poems, build nice houses and nice church but Chinese to hope the whole society to worship what happens in the past. So when that completely destroyed then the next thing is so-called Anti rightist, the moment which vanished, the children or related intellectuals to the old past, about half a million of them. Disappeared. Yeah, they all, like my father, sent to exile. Then the next thing is cultural revolution. That is a movement. You say words, it touches every soul of every individual, everyone is involved. There's no one exception. So children in school, they have to remember Chen Mao's sentence or, you know, all very political. So I come to extreme cleanup of the society with heavy political Prop”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  43. “Established in 1949. That's the first time they destroyed the foundation of the old China because they killed all the landlord, landlord in China is only educated people and they carries the fundamental values and all the culture and heritages only because landowners, farmers are educated, they kill all the landlord trying to please the farmer to establish this Russian type of not Russian but how do you say Soviet type of”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  44. “So by that time, all the intellectuals had two ideas. One idea, two concepts called China have to be reborn and to establish Mr. Du and Mr. S, that means democracy and the science. So that's the first goal all the intellectuals trying to establish China with this democracy and science till today they cannot establish that. That's the early principle and ideology. But that's what we call the main force movement. But the two communist”

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  45. “Chinese. It's long before that he established. Can you believe the Communist Party first documented Russian? And page 11 is missing. Nobody knows where the page 11. You know, all those details are so funny. And by then, China just overthrew the Qing Dynasty, the Federalist control for thousands of years and trying to find a new way why they have to do it because 1900, they realized the worst of very extendedly developed with their boat and their cannon under China just still use knives trying to protect themselves. So they think the weakness of China is because Qingdy is incapable to dealing with industrial state.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  46. “About asserting people. Someone said it's only 11, but it's never really clear. Under the data, it's not clear to establish a Chinese Communist Party. And there's a two-person on that group wants from Russia with Lining's, how do I say, is like a Russian delegation, just one person. And another, I think, is from a Dutch. So from the very beginning, Chinese Communist Party is really helped by foreign forces, which the government every day now is so careful about foreign forces, anti-China forces, but they are the typical foreign anti-China establishment. And the first document for Communist Party, you know, you have to write down the party's delegation is on Russian because they don't have tapu writer for”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  47. “Thank you. It's a good question, but we have to start a little bit earlier than cultural revolution. First, by 2021, China have accepted the idea of Russian communists. They had the first meeting on boat.”

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  48. “Half and a half. I have a respect for his wisdom in the struggle for Chinese early struggle because that time he has to fight nationalist. And those Americans supported army. And he only had very, very little chance with 40,000 people in poorest area, which included my father there. And they have a great patient. They wait the moment to come. Know they got a chance, so it's very wisdom, but he's a very crude person too. Cruel. Yeah, crude person, because under his control, about half a million of intellectual being purged. Of course, he doesn't kill anybody. He just lets them go to so-called re-education camp.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  49. “Chairman Mao or Mao Zedong is a very special person, I would say. A person in the historical context, nobody can judge anybody without this kind of historical contact. People are farmers, families in Hunan, but he's so knowledgeable about Chinese literature and history. His whole life like the room like this was full of old documents. He just loved to reading his mind. He's crazy. He's a poet. He's very good strategical leader. And he knows how to play a political game. And he's also very subversive. He can use the public opinion to destroy the whole system, you know, system he established. So he destroys the whole system trying to maintain his power and control.”

    2026-03-23 · The Rest Is Politics: Leading · 181. Ai Weiwei: China, Censorship, and Dissidence Through Art · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source

  50. “Again on the floor. So, you know, but everybody's happy because that really announced the Chairman Mao's time is over. But what is going to come? Nobody knows. So by that period of time getting to Beijing Film Institute, the first art college after closing during the cultural revolution opened. I got into the school, study, how do you call cartoon design. Time the only cartoon we can see is Tom and Jerry, which I still love today. And then I definitely think I have to escape because there's many details I will not mention. So I don't trust the new established government. So the only place I would like to go is New York because that's the heart of our enemy used to be. So I like to be there. Then by 24 I went to United States.”

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