Ai Weiwei on Freedom of Speech, Truth, and the Power of Twitter

Photo by Gao Yuan, 2010.

I think it is important for artists to see themselves as privileged, and to bear some responsibility, because their job is about communication and expression. These are the core values of life, of being individuals. Most people don’t realize that they have to fight for this, but for us artists it’s necessary.

With 140 Chinese characters on Twitter, you can write a short story or novel. It’s not like in English, where you only have room for one question or piece of information. So we’re very privileged.

This fight is not about me. It’s a fight for simple principles: freedom of expression and human rights – the essential rights, like sharing our opinions, that make us human and not slaves.

More of Weiwei’s thoughts via The Guardian.

Tags: Ai Weiwei, art, blogging, china, freedom of speech, human rights, law, power, speech, truth, twitter, writing