There has never been a time in Chinese history in which a dissenter of the status quo was free for very long. Get used to it. It is the irony of ironies that we have cooperated with the communist regime there in the extraction of millions of jobs from this country to theirs.
3
The Chinese government is easily accessible to us if we want to make our feelings known. They visit all over the United States, for trade and educational purposes. If there is a group of Chinese businessmen in your town, they are there with the blessing of the government. If Chinese students study at your university or are sent for high school, ditto.
We should put up billboards of all of the Chinese artists, intellectuals, writers, and journalists who are in prison so that we remember them and so that their government knows that we are watching. And frankly, other countries should do the same for us as there are plenty of people who are wrongly imprisoned in this country.
Nothing will change in China without pressure, both internal and external.
We should put up billboards of all of the Chinese artists, intellectuals, writers, and journalists who are in prison so that we remember them and so that their government knows that we are watching. And frankly, other countries should do the same for us as there are plenty of people who are wrongly imprisoned in this country.
Nothing will change in China without pressure, both internal and external.
12
Earlier today I tried to pull up an innocuous (by our standards) Chinese website devoted to the environment only to discover it gone. China's government had severed its Internet connection to the outside. It would be like our FBI taking down the Sierra Club website at the behest of the Club for Growth.
Assuming they didn't simply obliterate it. China's ruling class evidently believes itself to be existentially threatened by any free flow of information, forget actual media content. That, in turn, suggests its seemingly illogical knee-jerk reaction isn't simply paranoia. There actually is some rational basis for it.
Weakness. Perceived weakness.
For China's national security apparatus to concentrate so much energy and effort ferreting out critics and their potential supporters -- people who pose no counterrevolutionary threat today -- risks provoking the very thing China's leadership fears most: widespread cynicism birthing a national resistance movement. It will happen. The public will reject the Party's monopoly on power in no small part because the Party is so corrupted. By greed, money and injustice meted out by the state. For China's judiciary to behave so erratically and arbitrarily trying to repress dissent -- something also happening in politically unstable Egypt -- suggests those in power realize they are losing "the mandate of Heaven", their right to govern; like their Egyptian counterparts.
Corruption is destroying both their legacy and their legitimacy.
Assuming they didn't simply obliterate it. China's ruling class evidently believes itself to be existentially threatened by any free flow of information, forget actual media content. That, in turn, suggests its seemingly illogical knee-jerk reaction isn't simply paranoia. There actually is some rational basis for it.
Weakness. Perceived weakness.
For China's national security apparatus to concentrate so much energy and effort ferreting out critics and their potential supporters -- people who pose no counterrevolutionary threat today -- risks provoking the very thing China's leadership fears most: widespread cynicism birthing a national resistance movement. It will happen. The public will reject the Party's monopoly on power in no small part because the Party is so corrupted. By greed, money and injustice meted out by the state. For China's judiciary to behave so erratically and arbitrarily trying to repress dissent -- something also happening in politically unstable Egypt -- suggests those in power realize they are losing "the mandate of Heaven", their right to govern; like their Egyptian counterparts.
Corruption is destroying both their legacy and their legitimacy.
4
Someone once wrote that Free Markets do not necessarily mean Free Peoples.
China is a post child for that idea.
The USA is nothing but a "consumption junkie" with the Chinese as the Pusher. We reinforce their behavior every time we buy cheep goods at WalMart and Costco.
In the end, we cannot have a functioning Bill of Rights in America if we whore ourselves and deal with countries that do not. We will not lift their Human Rights, they will drag ours down.
The people in this article are better "American Patriots" than 99.9% of the people living in the USA today.
China is a post child for that idea.
The USA is nothing but a "consumption junkie" with the Chinese as the Pusher. We reinforce their behavior every time we buy cheep goods at WalMart and Costco.
In the end, we cannot have a functioning Bill of Rights in America if we whore ourselves and deal with countries that do not. We will not lift their Human Rights, they will drag ours down.
The people in this article are better "American Patriots" than 99.9% of the people living in the USA today.
3
Thank you, Ai Weiwei! And thanks also to the Times for publishing this.
Most governments (to greatly varying degrees) trample human rights in some circumstances, a problem which must concern the whole world.
A special category of human rights is political rights, including the freedom to hold, communicate and disseminate dissenting ideas. Political rights deserve special focus, because they (not guns, as ignorant Americans claim) are the key guarantor of all other rights.
Every citizen of the world must be concerned by the cruel oppression of political rights in so many countries, and Americans must be especially concerned by the extremity of oppression in the state that has the world's largest population, and is the largest trading partner with the USA.
And let us not forget that in other states -- Russia being a prime example -- political rights are relentlessly hacked away, year after year, by authoritarian regimes.
Most governments (to greatly varying degrees) trample human rights in some circumstances, a problem which must concern the whole world.
A special category of human rights is political rights, including the freedom to hold, communicate and disseminate dissenting ideas. Political rights deserve special focus, because they (not guns, as ignorant Americans claim) are the key guarantor of all other rights.
Every citizen of the world must be concerned by the cruel oppression of political rights in so many countries, and Americans must be especially concerned by the extremity of oppression in the state that has the world's largest population, and is the largest trading partner with the USA.
And let us not forget that in other states -- Russia being a prime example -- political rights are relentlessly hacked away, year after year, by authoritarian regimes.
5
Kudos to any and all "independent lawyers" in China for demonstrating their courage and willingness to stand up and take up the fight to defend rights activists in a court system fraught with corruption and injustice. China may very well need someone of St. Paul's stature who sees as his life's mission to win for that ancient land a day when a purported court truly becomes a court of law above and beyond the caprice and control of any one political organization or establishment (see Philippians 1:21: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.")
3
What would Mao and Zhou Enlai think of today's China? Would they see the current system as a betrayal of communism's utopian ideals? And what would Deng Xiaoping have to say about the outcome of his economic reforms?
1
stories like this cross thru my mind when sports commentators make comments about a 'courageous' decision when somebody uses a wood instead of a driver or a football coach goes for a first down on fourth and less than a yard (or third and less than a yard if you're watching Canadian football)....
2
DIRTY POLITICS DIRTY POLICY China's dirty dealing extends well beyond its filthy politics and repressiveness. It is, if not the top, then one of the top polluting countries in the world. Not that any of that makes a bit of difference to the Chinese government. Other nations of the world, as well as fair-minded people in the US, would do well to take note of Chinese defiance of basic human decency in its wholesale contaminating of the global environment, as it has contributed mightily to the acceleration of global climate change.
If people want to know the true face of trickle-down economics, they need look no farther than the deadly cocktail of toxic waste spewed into the world's air, water and soil due to the lack of environmental control technology being put in place in China. The air knows no boundaries; so China's filth spreads worldwide to choke not only Chinese cities, but to add to the air pollution of all other nations. All water ultimately ends up in the air or in the sea, so Chinese water pollution poisons the rest of us. Poisoned soil, when it ultimately turns into dust, travels around the globe, carried by the jet streams.
Just as they poison the globe, they justify their actions as being their right in order to support a growing economy. Then in order to silence those who object to their wholesale destruction of what belongs to everyone on the planet, they imprison political dissidents, trammeling their basic human rights.
THE GOP IS THE SAME!
If people want to know the true face of trickle-down economics, they need look no farther than the deadly cocktail of toxic waste spewed into the world's air, water and soil due to the lack of environmental control technology being put in place in China. The air knows no boundaries; so China's filth spreads worldwide to choke not only Chinese cities, but to add to the air pollution of all other nations. All water ultimately ends up in the air or in the sea, so Chinese water pollution poisons the rest of us. Poisoned soil, when it ultimately turns into dust, travels around the globe, carried by the jet streams.
Just as they poison the globe, they justify their actions as being their right in order to support a growing economy. Then in order to silence those who object to their wholesale destruction of what belongs to everyone on the planet, they imprison political dissidents, trammeling their basic human rights.
THE GOP IS THE SAME!
3
While the persecutions of Ai Weiwei, several members of the Pussy Riot musical band, and others in China and Russia have been especially egregious, we should not forget that our own criminal justice system has increasingly been diverted to suppress, under various legal pretexts, speech that we "really don't like," such as writing anti-bank slogans on the sidewalk with chalk, or political protests, or certain uses of hip-hop lyrics, or Internet fantasy games, or inappropriately deadpan parody of well-connected academics. Many cases reflecting this troubling tendency have not received the kind of serious media attention they would seem to deserve, given what they reveal about the struggle between power and provocation in American society. See for example the documentation of New York's leading criminal "satire" case at:
http://raphaelgolbtrial.wordpress.com/
http://raphaelgolbtrial.wordpress.com/
1
Mr Weiwei, I'm amazed at your ongoing courage and determination to bring the truth to light and fight for democracy. Bravo!
2
And you know where Ai Weiwei rejects it from... Germany.
At some point the Chinese people are going to have realize that no amount of brave lawyers, artists and students engaging in eloquent arguments and "polite protests" are going to win them their freedom. If they want their freedom they are going to have to take it. No tyrant has every said, "Wow great argument! Such sublime logic, so eloquently stated! I'll step down."
Sorry to say but if the Chinese people want their freedom they are going to have to take it by force. Tyrants only let go of power via a body bag.
At some point the Chinese people are going to have realize that no amount of brave lawyers, artists and students engaging in eloquent arguments and "polite protests" are going to win them their freedom. If they want their freedom they are going to have to take it. No tyrant has every said, "Wow great argument! Such sublime logic, so eloquently stated! I'll step down."
Sorry to say but if the Chinese people want their freedom they are going to have to take it by force. Tyrants only let go of power via a body bag.
3
Thank You for your great work and the work of Zhiqiang. It may feel like a lonely and scary road at times but your courage inspires everyone. I have been thinking a lot about China recently since COP 21, seeing photos of crazy toxic smog in Beijing and it made me think that China cannot keep going on as normal, it will have to change itself or change will be forced upon it by the environment. What future can a population or economy have, when you can't breath the air? Change is inevitable, the question now is only time.
7
Indeed, where are all of the supportive voices? I remember having a conversation years ago with an American 'friend' to whom I confessed I had a secret obsession - not buying anything Made in China if I could possibly help it. I only mentioned my commitment to him because it was becoming virtually impossible to find things not manufactured in China (stamped on the inside of a belt, stitched onto a clothing label, burned into the inside of a shoe, makers marks under a ceramic vase...literally everywhere).
My 'friend' essentially laughed at my personal little boycott, telling me it was insignificant and meaningless, that I would have no impact whatsoever, that I was wasting my time shouting into the wind. And perhaps Gone With the Wind are indeed all of the supportive voices. Shopping for cheaper everything manufactured by beleaguered Chinese workers is where it is at.
Money talks. Much more loudly than voices of protest and support for courageous people like Ai Weiwei, Pu Zhiqiang, Mr. Tan and so many others.
My 'friend' essentially laughed at my personal little boycott, telling me it was insignificant and meaningless, that I would have no impact whatsoever, that I was wasting my time shouting into the wind. And perhaps Gone With the Wind are indeed all of the supportive voices. Shopping for cheaper everything manufactured by beleaguered Chinese workers is where it is at.
Money talks. Much more loudly than voices of protest and support for courageous people like Ai Weiwei, Pu Zhiqiang, Mr. Tan and so many others.
1
The Party lives in fear and they believe the only way they can survive is by spreading that fear around. On reflection, not so different from the right wing politicians in the States, Europe and elsewhere.
3
China's economic "miracle" is merely a House of Cards. The focus continues to be on low-end industries and their work force is aging. The on-going Communist Party manipulation of virtually everything in sight is not ever going to enable it to be anything other than a managed economy.
The very large size of its population has only been able to take China so far. The elimination of the One-Child Policy only because it had to. Literally, the Party's Central Committee went against its own policy, but only out of economic necessity. The economy won't go back in the bottle!
A large number of women, who previously could have received exemptions for additional children, never did apply. The Party should have known better than to mess with social engineering. Also, those few additional children who may be born soon will not enter the work force for another twenty years.
http://thetruthoncommonsense.com
The very large size of its population has only been able to take China so far. The elimination of the One-Child Policy only because it had to. Literally, the Party's Central Committee went against its own policy, but only out of economic necessity. The economy won't go back in the bottle!
A large number of women, who previously could have received exemptions for additional children, never did apply. The Party should have known better than to mess with social engineering. Also, those few additional children who may be born soon will not enter the work force for another twenty years.
http://thetruthoncommonsense.com
The eyes of the world are watching now.
China must embrace freedom of expression and be strong enough to gracefully handle dissent. Being a world power comes with moral imperatives that extend beyond retaining and expanding power. Even in democratic societies a narrative can be sustained and propagated very effectively without state control of news outlets or the jailing of dissenters. A rather dark way of saying Ai Weiwei and Pu Zhiqiang and the many like them deserve their freedom and speak critically of China, but out of deep love for the Chinese people and what the Chinese state could potentially become.
China must embrace freedom of expression and be strong enough to gracefully handle dissent. Being a world power comes with moral imperatives that extend beyond retaining and expanding power. Even in democratic societies a narrative can be sustained and propagated very effectively without state control of news outlets or the jailing of dissenters. A rather dark way of saying Ai Weiwei and Pu Zhiqiang and the many like them deserve their freedom and speak critically of China, but out of deep love for the Chinese people and what the Chinese state could potentially become.
1
A society that does not allow individual freedom, does not protect individual ownership of ideas or assets. Such a society tends to suffer anemic individual initiative and over time, anemic economic growth. We have yet to see a police state become a rich state other than from resource rent, and no police state has ever been looked upon as a source of hope for the world. It is hard to see China become anything but a sluggish mid-income economy after all the low hanging fruits have been eaten.
1
Sadly there are too few people like Mr. Ai in China. Many Chinese I encountered and spoke to on WeChat either don't care about these issues or feel powerless to change anything and thus rather keep silence. Quite large number of Chinese are simply content with the economic progress and willingly submit themselves to the party. I had some fierce debate on various online channels (Wechat, Weibo, etc) with my Chinese friends on the issues of human rights, liberty, freedom, etc. Unfortunately, my view was generally considered "extreme", "non-harmonious" and many times I got shut down in the WetChat groups and was asked to be quiet by the group owners.
Critical thinking and courage are rare commodities in China. Not to put it too harshly but I DO believe what kind of people deserve what kind of government. The kind of Chinese people I know, at least majority of them, deserve the current Chinese government (I am Chinese).
Critical thinking and courage are rare commodities in China. Not to put it too harshly but I DO believe what kind of people deserve what kind of government. The kind of Chinese people I know, at least majority of them, deserve the current Chinese government (I am Chinese).
6
You do realize, don't you, that while it's safe for you to post your comments from Boston, it's not safe for them to receive them in China. What did you expect? The Chinese are not blind. But they're not going to talk openly with just anyone.
3
It is stories like this that should persuade us that the US must continuously strive to make its influence felt in world organizations and in the shaping of world norms for human rights, international trade and commerce, the Rule of Law, etc. If we abdicate that role and start to let the Chinese take leadership in these areas, this story is what we will likely see, and we will not like it or the world it would produce.
5
Great social progress has been made in China, but it remains schizophrenic. In those cases where it's bad, it's horrible -- as in its intolerance of speech about the government. China could be the greatest nation on Earth if the leadership were capable of living up to their professed ideals. Instead, they choose to lie and suppress. The Chinese people know this, but there is a deep cultural restraint -- perhaps a remnant of Confucianism -- coupled with low-grade ambient fear, that causes them to go about their daily business for the most part and not think about it. The CPC, despite the progress it has brought, is unbelievably childish and immature in many respects. Central control is also overrated. The political system is ungainly on a scale that makes the US look efficient. Regional and local governments -- and especially the security apparatus -- don't really answer to anyone, except a little now and then in high-profile matters, and the CPC continues to use an extralegal system of enforcers who operate in the dark. The recent chipping away against corruption is woefully insufficient. The problem is in the basic structure, whose first article of faith is that the authority of the CPC cannot be challenged. The Chinese people are deeply good and moral. They deserve better.
2
To Ai Weiwei, thank you for your courage in writing this Op-Ed piece. I know that this cannot be easy for you because of what the Chinese government does to those who speak out against it in public. You are forcing us to be aware of what goes on behind the curtain.
1
China's leaders love money, and so China has embraced capitalism. However, China is still Marxist. Its current ideology is Marxist capitalism, which sounds like a contradiction. China's government is Marxist and therefore enforces thought control. Marx looked forward to the day when everybody would think alike. Marxist capitalism combines thought control with love of money.
"many human rights lawyers have disappeared. Nobody outside the system knows where they are or how they are being treated."
That reminds me of--the land of the free and the home of the brave where "in 2006, Congress passed and the president (Bush) signed the Military Commissions Act (MCA). In doing so, they cast aside the Constitution and the principle of habeas corpus, which protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment. They also gave the president absolute power to designate enemy combatants, and to set his own definitions for torture."
https://www.aclu.org/military-commissions-act-2006
Not to be outdone "On December 31, 2011, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), codifying indefinite military detention without charge or trial into law for the first time in American history. The NDAA’s dangerous detention provisions would authorize the president — and all future presidents — to order the military to pick up and indefinitely imprison people captured anywhere in the world, far from any battlefield."
https://www.aclu.org/feature/indefinite-detention-endless-worldwide-war-...
That reminds me of--the land of the free and the home of the brave where "in 2006, Congress passed and the president (Bush) signed the Military Commissions Act (MCA). In doing so, they cast aside the Constitution and the principle of habeas corpus, which protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment. They also gave the president absolute power to designate enemy combatants, and to set his own definitions for torture."
https://www.aclu.org/military-commissions-act-2006
Not to be outdone "On December 31, 2011, President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), codifying indefinite military detention without charge or trial into law for the first time in American history. The NDAA’s dangerous detention provisions would authorize the president — and all future presidents — to order the military to pick up and indefinitely imprison people captured anywhere in the world, far from any battlefield."
https://www.aclu.org/feature/indefinite-detention-endless-worldwide-war-...
1
I have long admired Ai Weiwei. My 6 year old knows him well as one of our heroes. And this piece is partly why - he just never stops agitating for justice and liberty and peace; he uses his spotlight for an awful lot of good.
May all those unjustly imprisoned and tortured and watched over in China; and all of those unable to taste freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of speech and so much more; be granted greater joy and liberty in 2016.
And here's to trying really hard to not buy China junk in 2016.
May all those unjustly imprisoned and tortured and watched over in China; and all of those unable to taste freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of speech and so much more; be granted greater joy and liberty in 2016.
And here's to trying really hard to not buy China junk in 2016.
13
In many ways, the Chinese leadership has become at least as antagonistic to the West as has Russia.
Their territorial claims...their clamping down on dissent...their demonization of democracy and other Western values. The list goes on and on.
As Yogi said, "It's deja vu all over again."
Their territorial claims...their clamping down on dissent...their demonization of democracy and other Western values. The list goes on and on.
As Yogi said, "It's deja vu all over again."
4
China is a thugocracy and terror state. It abuses its people, forcing them to breathe filthy air, drink filthy water and keep quiet. The decades long Chinese occupation of Tibet continues unopposed by a world desiring lucrative economic agreements with the Chinese government.
Our wealthiest corporations - Apple, WalMart - maintain slave labor factories in China. The Chinese govt. allows this. Americans knowingly buy iPhones made by Chinese child labor. Tim Cook has no satisfactory explanation.
Ai Weiwei and Phu Zhiquang are brave - risking all speaking out while China imprisons more journalists and dissidents than any other country, where people have only a blockaded internet - heavily 'monitored' in a way sensitive Americans angered by N.S.A. surveillance can't imagine - sensitive Americans with iPhones.
Ai Weiwei lost much during imprisonment/house arrest. He had major museum exhibitions around the world but was not allowed to travel - including his magnificent retrospective at the Hirshhorn Museum. Washington art lovers rejoice in his freedom and hope to see him soon.
The Chinese government runs China as a gigantic prison labor camp so its leaders and western corporations can line their pockets. China is the world's worst polluter and human rights offender. Have pity on the residents of Beijing who have no recourse to that filthy air. They cannot complain.
Tim Cook, a gay man, could be a brave man championing human rights like Ai Weiwei. But he's not.
Our wealthiest corporations - Apple, WalMart - maintain slave labor factories in China. The Chinese govt. allows this. Americans knowingly buy iPhones made by Chinese child labor. Tim Cook has no satisfactory explanation.
Ai Weiwei and Phu Zhiquang are brave - risking all speaking out while China imprisons more journalists and dissidents than any other country, where people have only a blockaded internet - heavily 'monitored' in a way sensitive Americans angered by N.S.A. surveillance can't imagine - sensitive Americans with iPhones.
Ai Weiwei lost much during imprisonment/house arrest. He had major museum exhibitions around the world but was not allowed to travel - including his magnificent retrospective at the Hirshhorn Museum. Washington art lovers rejoice in his freedom and hope to see him soon.
The Chinese government runs China as a gigantic prison labor camp so its leaders and western corporations can line their pockets. China is the world's worst polluter and human rights offender. Have pity on the residents of Beijing who have no recourse to that filthy air. They cannot complain.
Tim Cook, a gay man, could be a brave man championing human rights like Ai Weiwei. But he's not.
15
Courage is less the issue than obliviousness. Chinese know nothing about the massacres in Tibet, Xinjiang, and at Tiananmen. The types you're hoping to reach, Ai, are like yourself--elites, people who have profited well under the current system. The ignorant are kept ignorant, the middle class on a slavish treadmill with little chance of getting off (it's in many cases illegal to quit your job in China, and former employers can keep you from ever getting hired again), and the elites like you mostly settle for buying international citizenship, or at least education and lives abroad for their kids.
1
@LG
You are hardly being fair. Mr. Ai may be an "elite" but he has the choice to remain silent or not and he chose NOT! BTW, there are plenty of non-elite Chinese who have at least some knowledge of the Tiananmen massacre but are too scared to mention it.
You are hardly being fair. Mr. Ai may be an "elite" but he has the choice to remain silent or not and he chose NOT! BTW, there are plenty of non-elite Chinese who have at least some knowledge of the Tiananmen massacre but are too scared to mention it.
1
Both the United States and China suffer from the lack of justice. The USA operates the largest gulag system the world has ever seen. The War on Drugs is lost, its time to send 1.5 M American POWs home.
China has a politically corrupt court system. China will not attain its former greatness until justice is impartial, just and fair. China is the greatest civilization in the history of humanity, but the quality of their bureaucracy suffers corruption throughout. The arrogance and corruption of their bureaucrats poisons internal and external relations. Their administration institutions are untrustworthy. How unconfucius. The mandate of history calls for more real reform. How can we respect a nation that destroys another nation's reefs?
China has a politically corrupt court system. China will not attain its former greatness until justice is impartial, just and fair. China is the greatest civilization in the history of humanity, but the quality of their bureaucracy suffers corruption throughout. The arrogance and corruption of their bureaucrats poisons internal and external relations. Their administration institutions are untrustworthy. How unconfucius. The mandate of history calls for more real reform. How can we respect a nation that destroys another nation's reefs?
2
This article serves to remind us of the stunning heroism of many Chinese in the face of the most brutal oppression even though what goes on in China today of that sort pales in comparison to what we saw during the Cultural Revolution and Great Leap Forward.It can be easy to look upon those millions as a herd of sheep passively submitting to the wolves that will eat them, but China has always produced some of the world's greatest moral heroes such as Liu Xiaobo who languishes in prison to this day for advocating democracy.
8
I want to thank Ai Weiwei for his contribution. Too many in America at the lower echelons of economic power only think of the low prices of Chinese goods available in the stores. Those in the top echelons of economic power only look at the profits being made, their stock price. The top echelons of political power in the US, regardless of party, have long supported greater integration with China in order to benefit the top economic echelons in America. This is where the politicians finances originate and they will not be ones to oppose that. In the US, the politicians have become owned by the corporations.
In China, no power is allowed to eclipse that of the Chinese Communist Party. Not the army, not the business interests, not even the people themselves. This is why the current purge has been undertaken by Xi Jinping. And the impact of this purge is being seen across the Chinese intellectual landscape as referenced by this article. Ordinary Chinese that complain about government abuses, such as land forfeitures, poor construction practices, and the like, can very easily end up in a Chinese "black site" where they disappear and their relatives cannot find out anything about their loved ones.
I hope that Ai Weiwei does not get a visit from his local security services for this editiorial.
In China, no power is allowed to eclipse that of the Chinese Communist Party. Not the army, not the business interests, not even the people themselves. This is why the current purge has been undertaken by Xi Jinping. And the impact of this purge is being seen across the Chinese intellectual landscape as referenced by this article. Ordinary Chinese that complain about government abuses, such as land forfeitures, poor construction practices, and the like, can very easily end up in a Chinese "black site" where they disappear and their relatives cannot find out anything about their loved ones.
I hope that Ai Weiwei does not get a visit from his local security services for this editiorial.
6
If the West had guts, it would bring pressure for change on the Chinese regime. But our fondness for imported Chinese rubbish trumps idealism 24/7, including Christmas. We talk big.
7
Weiwei says, rhetorically "As the world gushes over China’s economic power, no one should forget that its rise comes at the cost of freedom and human rights.” No one has forgotten Weiwei. It’s required that the Chinese Communist Party remain in power so that US Corporations can continue to squeeze profits out of China. It’s not just the Chinese people who are paying for economic growth by their enslavement by the CCP. The CCP is the comprador for US corporations. In return US corporations do the work of subverting the democratic process in the US to insure that US foreign policy towards China does not in any way dis-empower the dictators in China. The loss of human rights and rule of law in China is required by US Corporations, for without that they could not off shore a majority of US pollution to China. We spent a century erecting rule of law in the US, to prevent the destruction of the environment here—but as soon as we put the EPA in place, voila, the corporations offshore their production and the lion’s share of US pollution to China. Tim Cook, over at Apple, could not make his IPhone’s in China at the price he does without the CCP there to insure there are no free labor unions, no EPA. So never fear Weiwei. Our government, our corporations they have not forgotten the deal with the CCP..they are doing everything in their power to insure that it continues…
8
China is a contradiction where extreme wealth is supported by not just extreme poverty but slavery. It is a nation of ancient wisdom with barbaric demagogues. It is a nation of great beauty and resources with policies to pollute its natural soul. It is a nation of many dialects that soon will become the largest English speaking country on earth. As a nation of so many people.. . China needs more heroes.
China should stop selling her children for profit to the very few.
Dignity is not much to ask of a wealthy nation. . .
China should stop selling her children for profit to the very few.
Dignity is not much to ask of a wealthy nation. . .
2
Every time I read a story about suppression of free speech in China (or anywhere else for that matter), I feel again the rush of gratitude that I live in the United States. And it's not gratitude wrapped in the "glory of American exceptionalism" because it's clear to me that the United States is extremely fortunate to have been drawn up on a more-or-less "blank slate", separated from hundreds or thousands of years of cultural and political history. At the expense of Native Americans, Europeans stole and shaped a new nation out of "virgin territory". Virtually no other nation on Earth has had that advantage. And we should never forget it.
4
How ironic that American corporations so virulently opposed to Communism a few decades ago have helped prop up this thuggish regime by moving so many factories and transferring so much technology to China all the while contributing to the decline of good paying jobs in this country. It seems Big Capitalism and Big Brother have much in common...
45
The government can easily impose an embargo; it chooses not to, and Nixon helped open up China.
Under these conditions, to view businesses askance for trading with China vs. other countries seems bootless.
In addition, American consumers benefit from lower prices and other advantages from the mutual direct foreign investment which exists.
At bottom, the issues with China that are not trade-related are political and need to be dealt with as such.
Under these conditions, to view businesses askance for trading with China vs. other countries seems bootless.
In addition, American consumers benefit from lower prices and other advantages from the mutual direct foreign investment which exists.
At bottom, the issues with China that are not trade-related are political and need to be dealt with as such.
1
Yes, one of the grand ironies of the "engagement" policy that was sold to Americans was that it would make China more like us but the opposite is happening!
And this vicious, rights denying society is the main third word nation that our know nothing 1% are doing high velocity globalization to "economically integrate" us with?! No wonder Obama has also 'caught' the authoritarian impulse, meme sense of King like ruler entitlement to do "executive action" denial of citizen sovereignty rights by allowing 11 million illegal immigrants to violate our immigration, tax, social welfare and dozens of other laws ... because the provide of unlimited slave labor for our few percent business owner nobility and cheap to buy with taxpayers money for his democratic party. And also the "fast track" denial of democracy that the recent Transpacific trade deal that will accomplish sending even more US jobs to Asia.
5
Excellent article. I can't believe there is only one comment to appear so far.
Where are all the voices so ready to inveigh against a truly free society such as the United States?
I trust the editorial office will take note and start a series of editorials on the real problems raised in this article.
But at least this fine piece was published, a start.
Where are all the voices so ready to inveigh against a truly free society such as the United States?
I trust the editorial office will take note and start a series of editorials on the real problems raised in this article.
But at least this fine piece was published, a start.
31
It is terrifying. We are selling off our American property to the Chinese. We are in debt to them. We see them as the ultimate wonderful audience for our products. And we pay no attention to how they treat their own people.
Ultimately all that matters is that Americans stand to make money.
Ultimately all that matters is that Americans stand to make money.
24
Excellent appraisal of the stupidity of China's communist party, trying to subdue the spirit of its people. Freedom and justice, and the dignity it confers, and its ability to allow imagination and creativity catapult China into the XXI century of greatness, is being muzzled, and strangled, by a party afraid of its own shadow, as it fears it may uncover widespread corruption. If China's 'leaders' (really?) cannot recognize the harm they are causing, shooting their own foot, by trampling on basic human rights, and unable to appreciate the value of constructive criticism, another generation of bright minds will be lost forever, a crime of sorts, that no economic prowess can mitigate...nor solve.
14
No link to the original Chinese text?
12
I agree. Not to doubt the validity of the translation, but the source text would at least allay any doubts that the translation was in some way misleading.
From the safe comfort of my desk in Connecticut, I applaud the bravery of Pu Zhiqian, of Ai Weiwei, and of others like them. I often ask myself whether I would have the courage to emulate people of such integrity. I have never been able to answer "yes" and, each time I answer "no," my admiration for these brave men and women increases.
39
The comfort of your desk in Connecticut amf afford you some protectuion from the Chinese government but it affords you no protection from your government. See: The Military Commissions act (signed and approved by Bush and a Democratic congress in 2006 ) and the National Defense Authorization Act (signed and approved by Obama and a Republican Congress in 2012) which allow the American government to do everything described in this article: indefinite detentions, kangaroo courts and torture.
1
All the attention Ai gets is warranted but what about giving Tania Bruguera more respect and exposure. Her art is incisive and vital. Why is she sidelined I wonder? Does Adrian Piper ring a bell? Give both these leaders in human rights space in The Opinion Pages.
Again, Ai Wei Wei displays cutting-edge and clear thinking. Both he and Pu Zhiqiang want to make a progressive and positive difference in the lives of others, which is the pinnacle of human behavior; this reveals a compassion for those in need of social justice.
It would be fantastic to have either of these men as government leaders, but I imagine neither would want to compromise themselves on the altar of the bureaucratized mind.
In contrast, we see British politicians like Cameron and Johnson run their country like it's their own company; Neville Chamberlain's appeasement runs thick in their veins and they walk compromised lives no God would be proud of.
It would be fantastic to have either of these men as government leaders, but I imagine neither would want to compromise themselves on the altar of the bureaucratized mind.
In contrast, we see British politicians like Cameron and Johnson run their country like it's their own company; Neville Chamberlain's appeasement runs thick in their veins and they walk compromised lives no God would be proud of.
8
Thank you, Master Ai. Your courage and honesty are an inspiration that bring hope to all of us who truly love China. As long as truth is spoken, no dictatorship will prevail, because dictatorships can only be supported by lies, and lies can only be spoken with impunity after the people are terrorized into silence. Your courage, and the courage of Pu Zhiqiang, and so many others displays the greatness of the Chinese people.
48
I'm wondering what it is that urges you to love China like this as you are not Chinese. Thank you for your love and your faith, but it's an open secret in China that you should not say anything bad against the government or the Party, otherwise you might face custody or something worse than that. Government is forcing people to keep in silence.China will never be as democratic as America. People are losing their faith now, all they know is making money without being honest or morality. I'm not some extremists but I feel disappointed about Chinese society now. I hope something can help me to rebuilt the confident about this country once was great.
Both an inspiring and a depressing essay. The existence under any tyrannical regime of people like Mr. Zhiqiang, who dares to speak truth to power, reminds us of the human potential for courage and integrity even under the most threatening conditions. At the same time, the Chinese government, which presents itself to the world as a regime committed to the rule of law, never misses an opportunity to prove the opposite.
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, authors of "Why Nations Fail," argue that this oppressive character of the Chinese government will ultimately stifle the kind of economic growth that depends on innovation and creativity. An environment in which the kind of restless intelligence that challenges the status quo in science, business or the arts arouses official suspicion because it might also question government legitimacy, does not encourage technological breakthroughs.
Only time will tell whether these critics prove to be correct. China's economy continues to grow at a brisk pace, but its scientific and business classes have yet to display the kind of innovative and creative spirit characteristic of those groups in freer countries.
Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, authors of "Why Nations Fail," argue that this oppressive character of the Chinese government will ultimately stifle the kind of economic growth that depends on innovation and creativity. An environment in which the kind of restless intelligence that challenges the status quo in science, business or the arts arouses official suspicion because it might also question government legitimacy, does not encourage technological breakthroughs.
Only time will tell whether these critics prove to be correct. China's economy continues to grow at a brisk pace, but its scientific and business classes have yet to display the kind of innovative and creative spirit characteristic of those groups in freer countries.
22
Just like in the USA there is a considerable amount of "exceptionalism" thought in China. Many Chinese, and particularly Party members, supporters and apologists fervently believe that conventional thinking simply doesn't apply to China and the "China Model" is the wave of the future. They believe that "Western style" democracy is being proven a failure and their brand of authoritarian government coupled with state-driven capitalism (which they still insist on calling "socialism") will ultimately prevail.
12