Anyway… to my mind, there’s no objective measure of being an “A$$hole.” Maybe we could create a formula: X number of “critical” opinions near an event of Y importance to a given country’s people whose nationalists rate Z on a scale of how easily their feelings are hurt? But your “A$$hole” may always be someone I admire. You may always think those quotes above are obnoxious and I may always think they are entirely reasonable.

More generally, and I mean this without the snarky-ness I slipped into above, do you think artists should inspire a unity in their audience or spark debate?

Thirty years after opening and reform, people cannot help but ask, what on earth has happened in these thirty years? What has not changed? Who is holding onto what? For what purpose? What kind of world is this? What kind of past did we have and what is the reality now? What kind of future are we walking towards?

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http://www.timeout.com/london/timeout-40/features/5690/Time_Out_Beijing_heroes.html

I’m upset on behalf of my country and its people.

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You think a person who talk like that right before a biggest ceremony of his country cares people ?

and Who the f@#k give him the right to “on behalf of” of China and Chinese ?

He is an A$$HOLE. There are plenty of A$$holes in America who keep telling the “truth” too.

I don’t know whether Ai Weiwei has been to Tibet, either. But I don’t see how this adds to the conversation. Being somewhere can be helpful, but only advances a person’s understanding so much.

For example, I visited India for a few weeks once. And I left the country with a bunch impressions, ones I tried to round out by reading a bunch of books. But it would be foolish for me to say I understand India as a result of that experience or of those books.

Should I therefore stay silent about India until I am an “India expert”? No, that would be ridiculous. If we limit ourselves to narrower and narrower areas of expertise, then soon we won’t be particularly well-rounded human beings.

Ai Weiwei’s seems to get this fact, as demonstrated by the eclecticism of his work—from what is essentially a fact-finding project in Sichuan to performance art to installation art to created communities.

P.S. I am assuming you have spent a lot of time in India, given that you often bring the country up as an example of failed democracy or failed infrastructure or whatever—by your logic, you shouldn’t mention the country otherwise.

I don’t actually know, mind you, I’m just saying, you haven’t provided any evidence that he didn’t do this kind of stuff well before the Olympics, and given the tone of what he’s saying, who his father was, etc., I find it hard to believe that he just suddenly became political to glorify himself or whatever. Especially since I don’t really see what he gets out of any of this. It seems like a lot of effort (and danger) just for the slim, slim chance of winning a Nobel peace prize. ..

He talked to a german reporter in March last year about Tibet problem. That was the first he cared about human right problem in China, he had never used any other way to show his dissatisfication about the goverment or his concern about human right.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/02/china.olympicgames2008

Since the completion of the landmark “Bird’s Nest” stadium, Ai has distanced himself from the state and the Olympics, refusing to attend the opening ceremony and becoming an increasingly outspoken advocate of political reform.
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The timing is unbelievably perfect.

AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE, HE HAD NEVER BEEN TO TIBET, and the first time he openly talk about human right problems in China, he talked about human right problem in Tibet. (he sure could afford going to Tibet, right ?)

He is an @$$hole, maybe he is thinking of nobel price ( I am not asking you to agree with me.)

This is not mathematics, I cant prove it 100%. I present my case, you people are the jury. Whether you believe it or not, I dont know and I dont have the right to force you accept my call. but with what he did during Olympic and the timing, I simply dont believe he is as “innocent” as in his picture.

About authoritarian system, I gave a full explanation in fool mountain about what is the difference between the system in China and most other authoritarian systems in the world, and why the system in China works ECONOMICALLY.

Yes, I blame most on popular input, or THE “people” which is used in almost every sentence when talking about political system. Allow me to use an example to explain :

if you visited shopping mall during holiday shopping seasons before, you know that when near closing time, those shoe stores and clothes stores are always in complete mess like a bed on which a couple just made love.

That is, very unfortunately, how people act when they dont have to be responsible. Not saying most of them are irresponsible, but if one is irresponsible, there will be two irresponsible, then there will be four irresponsible, and so on. In democratic system, people will not be held responsible for their wrongdoing; in authoritarian system, government is not held responsible for its wrongdoing. Neither of them is good.

Also the phase “people’s opinion” is used in every sentence about political system. The fact is : if most ordinary people are capable of thinking critically, there would be no politics. If most ordinary people were capable of thinking critically, Hilter wouldnt be elected by German people; there wouldnt be culture revolution; and there wouldnt be the current economic crisis.

I think you get what I mean, I wont go any futher.

I deeply appreciate your post, it makes me feel much better. I have been called out (you know the words) cuz of my criticism on democracy and my “party lines”. Thank you very much.