Ai weiwei interviewed on CNN's Amanpour part 2

[jwpierce07]

The freedom. i actually shed a tear.

[SATURDAYateSUNDAY]

Was this interview done before he was arrested?

[paramitas]

@SATURDAYateSUNDAY Yes

[airsoftchina]

@SATURDAYateSUNDAY If he was arrested he can't be interviewed? Please use your brain

[SATURDAYateSUNDAY]

@airsoftchina If he was arrested and relased dont you think he could do a interview?

please use your brain.

[airsoftchina]

@SATURDAYateSUNDAY Indeed he can't, he is on bail now and he is not allowed to be interviewed.

[SATURDAYateSUNDAY]

@airsoftchina I heard he did a interview when he got out though now i dont think he could do one though. Did you hear what china tried to do to him? how they gave him that super high bill?

[airsoftchina]

@SATURDAYateSUNDAY I don't know what will happen to him, may God bless him. The communist party do not release a lot of information about him.

[penzilla27]

Fuck You! Your Criticism are Nothing... You Dumb Conservative! You Don't Get it You Idiot! You Egoistical Righteous Hypocrite! He doesn't hate China! He hates the Corruption that is Chinese State, and the State of his Culture! Stay Dumb You Fuck! >:(

[tsawad]

We are all Ai weiwei!

[igrung]

what you think if you sepak out, but millions of people will lose their jobs, family broken, and China's economy drop down again back to the country like India. I think why Ai weiwei did this is because he is a rich person, his family is rich( because his father could go to Paris decades of years ago, at that time, it is much difficult than nowadays.)

[redfox1997]

Ai WeiWei T-shirts, etc. for sale: Search "Who's Afraid of Ai WeiWei" with Google, and enter the fb album that displays the products.

[cgseggal]

/watch?v=enhf81_sI1M

[cuttlefishgem]

Why no voice supporting the perspective of the chinese? Who decides that twitter, facebook, the internet and so on are things genuinely desirable? Why is this taken for granted? What are the disadvantages of these things? Many westerners prefer not to use social media. Why? These are the real questions that are here conveniently glossed over.

[cuttlefishgem]

He IS a spy from the United States! He is a United States agent for gods sake. He is a traitor. He absolutely hates the country of his birth. /watch?v=enhf81_sI1M

How can anybody take this guy seriously?

[ABlackbirdOnline]

@cuttlefishgem criticizing the government of a country is not the same as hating that country. I criticize many elements of my own government and country, but I do not hate it. As for the 'perspective of the Chinese', Ai Weiwei is actually speaking out for many Chinese people who share his views, but do not have the opportunity to express them openly. He criticizes the government because he cares about his people and how they are treated. I respect your views and your right to express them.

[cgseggal]

@ABlackbirdOnline I agree with you. But Weiwei is horribly destructive and very full of hatred. Because of this, he has sabotaged his own (probably legitimate and valid) criticisms. I will never support somebody so full of hatred who has destroyed so much. I am not saying I support Chinese authoritarianism. I think those criticising China should look at what their own governments are doing e.g. treatment of Bradley Manning, seizing personal belongings without warrant or subpoena etc etc etc etc

[cgseggal]

@cgseggal I don't think most Chinese would go along with his destruction of priceless treasures, especially having spent most of his adult life in america. I don't think most chinese would go along with his youtube video that says "fuck you motherland"

[ABlackbirdOnline]

@cgseggal My main point was not to say that Ai Weiwei is necessarily right and that you should support him, but to make it clear that this debate is not an 'east vs west' or 'usa vs china' battle. cuttlefish was suggesting that that is the case, and i was trying to make the point that he has supporters and critics from both china and abroad. I don't think it's healthy to perpetuate the myth that all criticism of China is American propaganda; like him or not, he represents many Chinese people.

[airsoftchina]

@ABlackbirdOnline Only communist supporters and internet spies take the view that critism of China is anti China,

[linshirujing]

u want tell the truth that everyone knows

[bestwrmd]

Stop saying "can", say "can't" or "can not", you are doing a scam to make people stupid. So stop it.

[KingMinosxxvi]

its not about sympathy...its about trickle down legitmacy..and it will help change china for the better...oh and (google) was never blocked. Those with a little bit of internet savvy can get around the fire wall. one amazing thing is thtat you have to sign in your chinese id card when you use the internet cafe, i need my passport...

[popeyeisgood]

@KingMinosxxvi

i dont disagree. it is a fact that china is still far behind from all the developed countries in the world. What i was trying to say is the way now the attention that the chinese artists have been drawing around the world are mostly because of its unique structure as a modern country-rapid economic growth with a controlling government.

[popeyeisgood]

the western art world sees it as a more refreshing force of art making(or even movement) partially because of the difficulties of expressing freely (being sympathetic), and partially because of the lucrative art market happening in china now ( as the way all the new billionaires in china are racing for the immature and underdeveloped art work in chinese auction houses)

[KingMinosxxvi]

as an extension the idea of culture in china is a banner laid on just about anything to justify it as an example pretty much anyhting your grandmother tells you...its true that china is a diiffrent world though i get more culture shock (im canadian) when i go to the states. the mainthin is that people need to be free not only to speak but just as importantly to think in critcal analyical and creative ways...

[KingMinosxxvi]

not the ineterviewer the ladywho is so pretentiously holding her glasses and as is she has something new and insightful to say. things any mildly intelligent peson would have known 5 years ago

[KingMinosxxvi]

...as well as being fed so much garbage at schools ect,..that there unwilling to see the truth ... expecially truth they have been lied to about..as anything but an insult....when he talks about breaking urn hes talking about breaking the ingrained mindsets, many of them confininf negative and ilogical which worhipping the idol of chinese culture and history continualiy reinforces.

He has nothing to with mao, ai wei wei is not responsale for the slaughter or famine of anyone.

[popeyeisgood]

@KingMinosxxvi

and you make a great point here. it just seems like the only thing chinese artists should do now is to engage into political matter, with the art world still dominated by america and europe it is only sensible to be subversive as a chinese artist. to be honest, what ai wei wei does as shown in here is nothing new conceptually(except you put it into the context of him being a working artist in china). dada had done it long time ago.

[popeyeisgood]

one can argue that the rise of ai wei wei and the other modern chinese artists to gain international fame to be a form of sympathy from the western world to the inhuman condition of chinese in china. In my opinion ai wei wei has more interesting work than breaking the urn or using backpack to make a big mural but CNN and the likes are more about picking out the political conflicts and stressing on that.

[popeyeisgood]

from an artistic/aesthetic point of view, his work is perhaps lacking the subtlety that i really appreciate. but his courage to go against a dictator style government and a society filled with subconscious slavery mindset like china is what i respect the most.

[KingMinosxxvi]

When he talks about the denial of reality he isnt kidding(this lady is an idiot side note) i went to kunming in 2001 and it was one the most beautiful decent sized cities ive ever been to. now it is waste land. The chinese mentality is to press on blindly without any thought of the cost. while one could say this is world wide problem i assure it is far far worse in china than anywhere else . A vast majority of chinese are so defensive so entrenchantly arrogant about being "chinese" ...

[popeyeisgood]

@KingMinosxxvi

the lady is an idiot or not i am not sure. but you have to give credit for her to be patient to understand the lack of expression and redundancy of ai wei wei's english. her job is to be explaining matter in the most accessible way for the major public in the english speaking world anyway, not some kind of sophisticated art critics or column writers.

[popeyeisgood]

but i agree with what you said about chinese as a whole. it is a result of the mixture of national wide inferior complex embedded into the blood of chinese and the economical circumstance happening in the world.

[bg24955]

what's the highest auction value for Mr. Ai's work?

[edelweissyin]

No, he doesn't change China and the massive Chinese. Actually he is very similar as Mao. They both traitorous and artistics. This kind of people has very huge desire to change surrounding as his wish but if they realize that they can't. he will destroy it like his artistic production. The only different between him and Mao is he doesn't get the power. Sorry as Chinese, very hard to agree with him.

[yerk3]

@edelweissyin So trying to correct injustice makes someone just the same as Mao? How is that supposed to make sense? Corrupt officials and backroom deals resulted in thousands of deaths, and you're trying to say that anyone who doesn't just tacitly accept that this is the way things should be done is a traitor and the same as Mao?

[popeyeisgood]

@yerk3

when you see him writing 'traitorous and artistic', you should have already saved your time taking him seriously. where is mao's artistic contribution to the history of art? list them out with facts and links of prove and we will discuss from there. over-generalizing and illogically emotional is a stereotypical yet rather accurate trail of chinese race (may you accuse me for contradicting myself right here) .

[Benjefwil]

@edelweissyin Haha, Chinese have one thing in common, they fear change, so they will let other people tell them what to do and qifu them as long as they don't have to think for themselves or make change.

[cxz789]

@Benjefwil Ah, everyone fears change. Just go into a dying nation and ask them how they feel about the vast number of visible/coloured immigrants, and see the hate spew out. Your comment is on the ignorant side of things.

[popeyeisgood]

@edelweissyin

of course ai's act or work dont have a great impact on chinese, because all chinese has to go through the ' spoke-man of all china man' namely you edelweissyin. your voice is a solid representation of what the majority of chinese in the world think. and yes besides mao's bigger eyes vs ai's squinty little ones, and ai has a lot more top and facial hair than mao, i think they are practically identical.

[yerk3]

@popeyeisgood Why, because he's fat? Other than general body type, he doesn't resemble Mao at all. If he looked like any Chinese historical figure, with his round belly, jowly face, long beard and enigmatic smile, he looks a lot more like the Yongle Emperor of the Ming dynasty.

[popeyeisgood]

@yerk3

sigh do you understand something called sarcasm?? obviously saying mao is the same as ai wei wei is one of the dumbest thing you will ever hear i just want to show how absurd it is to crack a joke. where is the sense of humor ?

[yerk3]

@popeyeisgood Sarcasm doesn't translate well in a short, text-based medium, and no, saying "obviously stupid" things does not make the sarcasm obvious, because there are people out there who are actually that stupid. This has nothing to do with my "sense of humor," I laugh at things that are genuinely funny, but on the internet, the line between clever troll and genuine retard is completely invisible.

[yerk3]

@popeyeisgood Furthermore, for someone who obviously considers themselves a master of online satire, it falls on you to know this. Poe's Law, look it up, motherfucker. 

[popeyeisgood]

@yerk3

did i say i am the master of that? no i am a very normal person. i have common sense. i read between the line. you? i am not sure. nice job calling me mother fucker. real mature really.

and you say it right about yourself, internet are full of people who are obviously stupid. great job.

[popeyeisgood]

only pussies like to call other trolls. because they are all panicky when some one are pointing out their weaknesses and start finding excuse to doge how retarded they are. my original posts has no intention of insulting you yet you are to thick to understand and starting going at me. i dont care if you hate me or not, but obviously you are not qualified to be in this conversation either. i suggest you to save your time telling what to read, but to go learn some common sense yourself.

[yerk3]

@popeyeisgood Motherfucker, you haven't pointed out any flaws. You made an attempt to be witty and sarcastic in a comment section, it fell flat because sarcasm doesn't translate well in the format of a text-based comment section, especially on the internet, and then you got all defensive and started calling me a retard for not being fucking psychic and automatically divining that you weren't serious.

[popeyeisgood]

@yerk3

tell me what is not subjective besides certain maths. if any thing here that we talk about here do belong to be an objective opinion then what would it be? perhaps your desperate attempt to be knowledgeable but fail terribly hard? i am sorry you didnt get it because some thick people are not meant to catch any sort sarcasm.

yea i am not objective enough, and i will always see you as a retard. call me a mother fucker once again please, i dont mind to fuck your mom really.

[popeyeisgood]

in fact i want to fuck your mom so hard i dont mind you watch. call me that again i know you want it. i know you want yourself to be tied up watching someone fucking your mom you little cunt.

for some one who dont know dick about politic and art you dare to come here and pretend to be knowledgeable, is surely an act of courage.OH I JUST READ SOME THING CALLED POE'S LAW AND I DON'T THINK ANYONE IN THE WORLD HAVE READ IT I AM A REAL INTELLIGENT MAN LA DEE DA

[popeyeisgood]

"AND BESIDES ME NO ONE ELSE HAVE HEARD OF 'MOTHERFUCKER ' BECAUSE WE ARE ALL AMISH AND HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY TARENTINO'S MOVIE"

keep up the good work dropping the most generic names to show how derivative cheesy you are.

[yerk3]

@popeyeisgood Yeah, I used a generic name, and a generic insult. You know why? Because your stupidity doesn't merit me going out of my way to be witty for you, shit stick.

[yerk3]

@popeyeisgood Blah, blah, blah, all the wasted text space in the world won't cover up your stupidity. You're not fooling anyone.

[yerk3]

@popeyeisgood You didn't say it outright, but it is clear from your attitude. "Common sense" is a highly subjective concept, and is not all that "common" on the internet. I don't know if you've been living in an Amish community for the past 10 years or what, but in case you were unaware, the internet is filled with retards, retards who spout the most blindingly stupid shit with total conviction. So no, saying something outlandish on the internet is not such an open and shut case of witty satire.

[yerk3]

@popeyeisgood And yes, I called you a motherfucker, it's a standard insult in the English language, I was not insinuating that you have incestuous relations with your mother, nor was it an attempt to be witty. Surely you've heard the word before. Watch any Quentin Tarentino movie, you'll hear it pop up numerous times. In short, I was calling you an asshole, which you have demonstrated yourself to be.

[cxz789]

@popeyeisgood Your comment is ignorant. Majority of Chinese does not think that, and if you had the chance to speak to over 500 million Chinese people in the world, then perhaps i might believe you. There are many people that love Ai's art work and many are Chinese. Your over generalization, does not help the matter. The kind of message that the Chinese government will permit getting out most of the time is nationalistic and in support of its own government. How can you generalize that?

[popeyeisgood]

@cxz789

another dumb fuck,READ what i wrote before making comment like this. it is meant to be sarcasm. if you dont understand what sarcasm means, pleas go to google translate or any kind of dictionary that will help your little retarded brain to understand. i am making fun of this poster for over-generalizing and you parrot are saying what i just said? please.

[popeyeisgood]

seriously, before engaging into a english speaking conversation i encourage you to at least know how to read between the line before making yourself sounding like a fool. or just simply type chinese or any other language that suits you the best, otherwise just stay off the internet for earth sake.

[sergeibodrov]

I hate the idea that everybody feel they have to have those western media. It seems those media presents freedom but another hand it is helping somebody make huge property from it. Having said that unfortunately there isn't better way to individuals can exchange their personal view as youtube and other network!  Thanks for Ai weiwei! You are great artist and great man!

[DjangDjang]

very good and important interview