What is this model on your table? I am preparing an exhibition to be held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Taiwan. It will start on October 29. This is surely the first time you expose in Taiwan, right? It's even better than that. If Taiwan is really a part of China, as claimed by the Chinese authorities, this will be my first exhibition in China for short (laughs).
So far I have not had the right to display here. You've tried recently. You need to expose for the first time in March, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing. Yes, but they prevented the exhibition. I worked on it for a year and a half, and the exhibition has just been banned.
They also completely ruined my new workshop in Shanghai [it was demolished in January 2011]. The situation does it become increasingly difficult for artists in China who criticize the regime? For some time, they keep putting people in jail just because they wrote something on Twitter or on a blog.
They cut the phone, we follow them, they search their homes. The police arrived in the middle of the night, put your house upside down. And after they make their evidence against you to court. They condemn the innocent to ten years in prison. The last was Liu Xianbin [defender of human rights on March 25 sentenced to ten years in prison for "inciting subversion"].
You have often raised their voices in support of civil society activists, such as those who wanted to conduct an investigation into why so many schools collapsed during the earthquake in Sichuan. Tan Zuoren, for example [author of a survey on the reasons for the collapse of schools, sentenced to five years in prison in February 2010].
Yes, I mean what kind of people. They are people like that thrown in jail for years. Others simply disappear. Their family has more news. Nobody can make contact with them [several dozen people, including lawyers, have been missing for two months]. Their lawyers were not allowed to visit them.
What is this company? At the same time, a large German exhibition takes place in one of the largest museums in the world, Tiananmen Square. It is entitled "The Art of Enlightenment. What do you think? Is the supreme irony of having an exhibition on the Enlightenment Tiananmen Square, because we, the Chinese, we are currently experiencing a time of darkness.
There is an economic boom and the lives of people are improving gradually. But at the same time, China has reached its lowest level in terms of freedom of speech, freedom of artistic expression or freedom of education. This is a new nadir for our civil society. Once you have been so severely beaten by the police that you had to have surgery in Munich from a brain haemorrhage in September 2009.
Given the scale of repression in China, have you ever thought about emigrating? No, never. But I often have nightmares. The last time was two days ago. I was in a sort of secret society meeting and I saw horrible things. People were crying. I wrote down everything. But afterwards I had no right to get everything I had written.
I followed. I felt that this dream lasted all night. And the most shocking is that there were lots of tourists everywhere. They saw everything but did not care. They acted as if it was normal. We understand that you plan to banish you. No, it's the last thing I want. Officials from State Security have already advised me while they questioned me.
They told me that it might be better that I go abroad, I was a famous artist, but it became dangerous for me here. But it would be really my last choice. Even if you are directly threatened? I see the risk of staying here. When I look at the history of my country, people have questioned the authorities have never had a happy ending.
Do you think an artist is still in today's China the opportunity to contribute openly to change society, as the Enlightenment understood it in Europe? Not really. For China official, I no longer exists. If you want my name on the Internet, you'll receive an error message. I've been "harmonized" [ironic euphemism designating censorship].
But I have 70,000 fans on Twitter, which is still available in China through a few technical tips. I commented on the problems of society so that people see that the fire is completely extinguished, there is still a spark. If it were to go out too, it would be just too sad. You are one of the few Chinese who still dare to speak openly with strangers logged.
Is that too, it is not dangerous in the long run yes, I often ask journalists why they do not ask questions to someone else. It would be much better for me. If there was anyone else like me, my burden is half as heavy. If there were ten, my burden is ten times lighter. But meanwhile, it's my job, all by myself.
That's funny. And at the same time I am very scared. Your father, the famous poet Ai Qing, was imprisoned and tortured by the Nationalists, then under Mao Tse-tung, who was sentenced to internal exile and banned from publication for twenty years. When we see the intellectual climate prevailing in China, can we conclude that we have not made much progress on intellectual freedom? Yes.
It was not suggested. Not at all. And again because the same principle: the powerful do not want critical voices are heard. They want to destroy them. They never want an open discussion. Why is it so difficult to exchange ideas, sit down and talk? The exhibition "The Art of liberty" might be an opportunity for that.
It should be accompanied by discussion forums with artists. Have you been invited? No, I have not been formally invited. I guess the Chinese involved in organizing the exhibition does not want to see me. It would be embarrassing for our Minister of Culture. Yet it would be a good thing.
They should invite me. If the German exhibition is not accompanied by a critical dialogue really, what interest does this? It's better than nothing. Germany has at least always beautiful things to show. The question, however, is knowing how to relate it to current reality. Otherwise it is a gesture between governments.
Are we Chinese, we are ready to accept the values of the Enlightenment? No, two centuries after the Enlightenment, we did not always ready to China. In this sense, it's very interesting that this exhibition on the Enlightenment take place here. Because the current situation in China is crazy.
If I were to name the time, I would say we live in an age of madness. 
So far I have not had the right to display here. You've tried recently. You need to expose for the first time in March, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing. Yes, but they prevented the exhibition. I worked on it for a year and a half, and the exhibition has just been banned.
They also completely ruined my new workshop in Shanghai [it was demolished in January 2011]. The situation does it become increasingly difficult for artists in China who criticize the regime? For some time, they keep putting people in jail just because they wrote something on Twitter or on a blog.
They cut the phone, we follow them, they search their homes. The police arrived in the middle of the night, put your house upside down. And after they make their evidence against you to court. They condemn the innocent to ten years in prison. The last was Liu Xianbin [defender of human rights on March 25 sentenced to ten years in prison for "inciting subversion"].
You have often raised their voices in support of civil society activists, such as those who wanted to conduct an investigation into why so many schools collapsed during the earthquake in Sichuan. Tan Zuoren, for example [author of a survey on the reasons for the collapse of schools, sentenced to five years in prison in February 2010].
Yes, I mean what kind of people. They are people like that thrown in jail for years. Others simply disappear. Their family has more news. Nobody can make contact with them [several dozen people, including lawyers, have been missing for two months]. Their lawyers were not allowed to visit them.
What is this company? At the same time, a large German exhibition takes place in one of the largest museums in the world, Tiananmen Square. It is entitled "The Art of Enlightenment. What do you think? Is the supreme irony of having an exhibition on the Enlightenment Tiananmen Square, because we, the Chinese, we are currently experiencing a time of darkness.
There is an economic boom and the lives of people are improving gradually. But at the same time, China has reached its lowest level in terms of freedom of speech, freedom of artistic expression or freedom of education. This is a new nadir for our civil society. Once you have been so severely beaten by the police that you had to have surgery in Munich from a brain haemorrhage in September 2009.
Given the scale of repression in China, have you ever thought about emigrating? No, never. But I often have nightmares. The last time was two days ago. I was in a sort of secret society meeting and I saw horrible things. People were crying. I wrote down everything. But afterwards I had no right to get everything I had written.
I followed. I felt that this dream lasted all night. And the most shocking is that there were lots of tourists everywhere. They saw everything but did not care. They acted as if it was normal. We understand that you plan to banish you. No, it's the last thing I want. Officials from State Security have already advised me while they questioned me.
They told me that it might be better that I go abroad, I was a famous artist, but it became dangerous for me here. But it would be really my last choice. Even if you are directly threatened? I see the risk of staying here. When I look at the history of my country, people have questioned the authorities have never had a happy ending.
Do you think an artist is still in today's China the opportunity to contribute openly to change society, as the Enlightenment understood it in Europe? Not really. For China official, I no longer exists. If you want my name on the Internet, you'll receive an error message. I've been "harmonized" [ironic euphemism designating censorship].
But I have 70,000 fans on Twitter, which is still available in China through a few technical tips. I commented on the problems of society so that people see that the fire is completely extinguished, there is still a spark. If it were to go out too, it would be just too sad. You are one of the few Chinese who still dare to speak openly with strangers logged.
Is that too, it is not dangerous in the long run yes, I often ask journalists why they do not ask questions to someone else. It would be much better for me. If there was anyone else like me, my burden is half as heavy. If there were ten, my burden is ten times lighter. But meanwhile, it's my job, all by myself.
That's funny. And at the same time I am very scared. Your father, the famous poet Ai Qing, was imprisoned and tortured by the Nationalists, then under Mao Tse-tung, who was sentenced to internal exile and banned from publication for twenty years. When we see the intellectual climate prevailing in China, can we conclude that we have not made much progress on intellectual freedom? Yes.
It was not suggested. Not at all. And again because the same principle: the powerful do not want critical voices are heard. They want to destroy them. They never want an open discussion. Why is it so difficult to exchange ideas, sit down and talk? The exhibition "The Art of liberty" might be an opportunity for that.
It should be accompanied by discussion forums with artists. Have you been invited? No, I have not been formally invited. I guess the Chinese involved in organizing the exhibition does not want to see me. It would be embarrassing for our Minister of Culture. Yet it would be a good thing.
They should invite me. If the German exhibition is not accompanied by a critical dialogue really, what interest does this? It's better than nothing. Germany has at least always beautiful things to show. The question, however, is knowing how to relate it to current reality. Otherwise it is a gesture between governments.
Are we Chinese, we are ready to accept the values of the Enlightenment? No, two centuries after the Enlightenment, we did not always ready to China. In this sense, it's very interesting that this exhibition on the Enlightenment take place here. Because the current situation in China is crazy.
If I were to name the time, I would say we live in an age of madness.
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