‘You’re in an Authoritarian State. You Just Don’t Know It.’

In "1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows," renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei details his struggles with censorship and his fight for human rights.
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On the morning of April 3, 2011, the renowned artist Ai Weiwei was picked up by Chinese police at an airport in Beijing. Later that day, he found himself in the back of a van surrounded by security officials, wearing a black hood. They drove him to a secret detention facility where he was interrogated and monitored. It was here that Ai began to think of his young son, wondering when he would see him again. 

"I was thinking I would be in that position for next 10 or 13 years," Ai told Reason.  "And I realized, if there is a chance, I would write down [my memories] so I can pass them to my son."

The resulting book, 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows, tells the story of his 81-day detention, his repeated struggles with the Chinese Communist Party, and of his father, the famed poet Ai Qing, who was severely punished during China's Cultural Revolution.

"He was heavily punished with about half a million intellectuals," Ai explains. "They relocated us from the capitol to the most remote province…. That experience gave me an early and very intimate relation to politics."

Growing up in exile, watching his father struggle, profoundly affected Ai's views on human rights, individuality, and freedom of expression. Views that repeatedly put him at odds with Beijing. But, as Ai states in his book, China is not alone in curbing speech. 

"Ideological cleansing," he writes "exists not only under totalitarian regimes—it is also present, in a different form, in liberal Western democracies. Under the influence of politically correct extremism, individual thought and expression are too often curbed and too often replaced by empty political slogans. It is not hard to find examples today of people saying and doing things they don't believe in, simply to fall in line with the prevailing narrative and make a superficial public statement."

[SilencerNate]

"racism, " "vaccine, " "homophobic, " there are countless words in the US dictionary that have been radically changed from their original meaning in the name of political correctness. The woke culture is one of the most dangerous things facing America right now. Kudos to Mr. Weiwei. I just bought his book.

[carlodave]

There's a fascinating article in The Economist about Eileen Gu, the Winter Olympic champ who suddenly decided to compete for China instead of the U.S., despite being raised and living in the United States. She's a vocal BLM supporter and advocate for female empowerment, but refuses to even mention, let alone criticize, a single one of China's many human rights violations, past and present. And corporate sponsors are pouring in. She was already the third highest earning female athlete before winning her first Olympic gold this week.

[makjr]

Sad that people care more about money than freedom. This man is a treasure to all freedom loving people.

[josephvictory]

Something a lot of people do not understand about this mans father Ai Ching is that in china, poetry is deeply connected to politics, warfare and statecraft.

It is a cultural force. So there is a deeply culturally traditional element about the art and about his story.

It connects into the deep roots of chinese classical history.

[chesscomsupport]

I'm glad Ai makes the point that authoritarianism can exist in democracies. Much of the discourse on authoritarianism in Western democracies treats "democracy" and "authoritarianism" as antonyms, with the implication being that democracy in and of itself is anti-authoritarian. In reality, it's more accurate to think of "dictatorship" as the opposite of "democracy, " as both are systems of government, whereas authoritarianism is more of a philosophy or a practice than a particular system. As such, authoritarianism can exist under any system, whether it is a democracy, dictatorship or anything else.

[fanenthusiast]

I always wondered what happened to him. Glad he's okay

[excke]

I loved my visitation to his exposition in Brazil, even made several university essays about him and China. What a great artist he is, a courageous genius.

[dfens]

He is totally correct about where the United States is currently.

[JaketheJust]

This guy ought to have a discussion with Jordan Peterson about standing up to political correctness

[Bean_Soup]

Im working with Ai Weiwei for an upcoming artist exhibit about diaspora. What a great man.

[bellofthedesert]

The world needs more brave men like Mr. Weiwei. Everything he said in this video was 100% true and easily verified.

[Galt]

He’s right about the US, and more and more people are realizing it.

[EsotericOccultist]

I can't criticize the group that does the vast majority of crime without getting banned for it. That's pretty authoritarian to me

[AzazelTheFallen]

Ironically it was a friend of mine who later went off to College and got brainwashed into being a hardcore SJW that put Ai Weiwei on my radar I think she has since forgot he exists.

[David-bhrn]

This is why freedom is so important. Government should be as small as possible

[jasonlacroix]

The odd thing in America is we have a provision in our constitution to legally do something about it. But, those who most admire that provision also support the authoritarian apparatus.

[DarkMatterThaFirst]

He should go on Joe Rogan's podcast.

[CRASS]

America is creeping in this direction every single day

[jdinhuntsvilleal]

I've been saying we live in a police state for at least a couple of decades now.

[billbaker]

How perfectly he describes America today.