Ai Weiwei: The Internet vs. The Chinese Government

Free information and communication on the Internet is forbidden in China. So, you’re facing so-called a great firewall to block all the major international Internet servers. And within China, you have 100,000 Internet police just sitting there to delete all blogs or whatever the information they think we cannot appreciate about.

But still, the Chinese Twitter and Chinese blogs still offer a certain kind of freedom this nation never had before. And also, daily when the events happening, people start to make comments on it, which build up a very strong platform for civil opinions and discussions, which already completely change the landscape of the political situation.

I think those technology platforms constantly put the government on trial. And every event, every policy they make, people will laugh about it, and they will make fun about it. This is amazing for the younger generation. I think Internet technology can lead to more freedom everywhere, especially in China.

A state like China or other authoritarian societies, to maintain this kind of control, is to censor and to block the freedom of expression. Once that is not possible, then to maintain this kind of control is impossible. So obviously, the Internet is the answer to achieve a civil society or to get young people to be engaged, to be involved, and to be informed, and to freely associate and communicate with other people.

This is truly a miracle gift from the human struggle. I think it is so beautiful, and I think it’s beyond the imagination.