The Guardian, a UK news organization, has a whole page for the guy. Check out the video in the left hand corner to get a sense for who he is. Then take a look at some of the headlines and read one.
this is AI Wei Wei
This is a cool story of a female street artist who is bombing China with cans of spray paint and Ai Wei Wei's face. .From Urban Photo
So the question is.......
AND WHY?
this is AI Wei Wei
This is a cool story of a female street artist who is bombing China with cans of spray paint and Ai Wei Wei's face. .From Urban Photo
So the question is.......
AND WHY?
I read the article about the young girl spray painting pictures of Ai Wei Wei and I think that if she goes to jail for what she's done, there will be a lot more upset then there is now. Chin picked the most high profile places to spread a message, why are people so afraid of him? Ai Wei Wei is a an artist and like mentioned in the article, "Writing graffiti is a great way to honor Ai’s contribution to world of art, and remind people of him. Artists like Chin actually make their own piece out of Ai’s incident, speaking with their own voice, and that is what what Ai Wei Wei appreciates most.” It's not like she was just graffitiing the city for no reason, she had a clear reason and the way she went about, I think, was definitely the smartest way of doing it. She was smart enough to know where to put her art work and use a creative and effective method of getting her ideas across. If she is arrested and put on trial, I highly doubt the court will punish her for such a brave act. She wasn't spray painting the city for no reason like many of the other teenage hoodlums running around, she was doing it for a reason, and a very good one at that.
ReplyDeleteThe article about Ai Weiwei and China's human rights issues is alarming. The fact that Ai was in custody for 81 days is not particularly a terrible thing, but the mental/emotional stress he and his family were put through during the process are unnecessary. The government would not tell Ai's family anything about where he was, and afterwards he was robbed of many rights for no real reason. "Under the conditions of Ai's release, he is not allowed to be interviewed by journalists, meet foreigners, use the internet or interact with human rights advocates for a year, a source familiar with Ai's detention told Reuters." Why is the government so afraid of him? Obviously tax evasion is bad, and he needs to pay taxes like everyone else, but what else did he do to deserve this form of isolation? My bet is that the government is afraid of his social and political power, and he could potentially obtain large amounts of followers who are upset with the same injustices he is. His right to express his opinions is basically being revoked. As an artist, that must be unbearable for him. Art is all about expression.
ReplyDelete-Saralyn
I agree with Saralyn that human rights are important thing, and it was wrong that China´s coverment took him to custody without telling even to his family where he is. Well I read article about how Ai Weiwei criticized the Chinese coverment. In China there is still very limited that what you can say about coverment, you aren´t allowed to critized or speak about coverment´s problems in publicly. Ai doesn´t afraid his saying, and he wants that other people would join him to critized their coverment. Like in his interview he said that people likes what he is doing, but they don´t want to come and say it by themselves. This is maybe because China´s history, like in 1989 Tiananmen square protest tanks came and killed almost 1000 protestors.
ReplyDeleteAi wants that people would speak in loud about politics and human rights. Because with croup you can make a difference. This is their coverment biggest fear, that people are going to gather together and starts to protest against them.
-Teemu Räinä
As I watched the video about Ai Weiwei I was inspired, and found myself wanting to learn about Ai Weiwei and the problems he sees occurring in China. In the video, Weiwei says that he must speak out for those who are too afraid to speak, and I found this quality very heroic and saw leadership qualities’ in him. He also stated that the global community views China as only a cheap manufacturing market. Weiwei then says that there is not enough focus on the creative mind. I agree that China is known, in some cases, notoriously for its manufacturing business and the poor treatment of workers. What Weiwei is fighting for is the creative freedom seen in other countries such as the US. However, the Chinese government fears the allowance of creative freedom because that will allow the mistreated people to speak against the government, and take power and credibility away from them. After the video, I read the article "Ai Weiwei attacks China over justice and human rights". This article states that Ai Weiwei has “…criticized the government for rampant corruption, the judicial system and its policy on migrant workers, all issues that have inflamed social tensions in China.” China has many different provinces; however, the majority of China is under communist rule. In a communist government, the people work to supply the government, who will in turn distribute the wealth equally. China is the highest populated country in the world, and in a lot of provinces, there is poverty. As long as the people need the government to survive, they cannot act out against them; however, this is what Weiwei speaks out at. He believes people should not live in fear, and criticizes the government for its inhumane and unfair treatment of its people. Like Teemu said, Weiwei understands the power of a group with a similar cause. The Chinese government fears Ai Weiwei because he is a leader in the eyes of many Chinese people.
ReplyDeleteOne man's action is prompting more and more people to take action, and is bringing attention to the issues he finds faults in. It is incredibly brave to criticize China, while a citizen, when censorship is still rampant today. Ai Weiwei's action is attracting citizen's and the world's attention to the injustices in China. More importantly, his actions are prompting others to take similar politically active roles. For instance, there is now a young girl using strategically placed graffiti to make people notice what happened to Ai Weiwei. She said that she is prepared to be arrested for her actions, and that this issue caused a response in her that she doesn't normally have. It takes a lot of courage to do willingly do something that could lead to prison, according to the article for up to ten years. I disagree with Sammy that the court will not punish her. If the government was willing to imprison Ai Weiwei because of the power and influence he was gaining, they would be willing to imprison her as well. The positive side of this is that it is becoming a more well known issue. If she, or anyone else, is imprisoned, there will be a greater response to it inside and outside of China. One question that I have to ask is, what makes Ai Weiwei so important? He is a man, an artist. He has become increasingly popular, and was recently named the most influential artist in the world. But what about him, and what about right now, is making the Chinese government have such a strong response to him? There have reportedly been 41 other influential people arrested in China. Is there something that we don't know about going on in the country that is causing them to fear activists and rebels? Ai Weiwei has become the symbol of injustice, and whether he wanted it or not, it is something that he will carry from now on.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Ai Wei Wei is the definition of a brave man. He took action when he saw that the Chinese government was going downhill, even though he knew that the consequences would be drastic. I agree with Saralyn when she says, “The article about Ai Wei Wei and China's human rights issues is alarming.” I also believe that Ai’s human rights were completely violated. He was speaking out against the government, which they did not like; so they detained him on fraud tax evasion charges. I think that the government did this to scare him, and show their power over his statements.
ReplyDeleteThe article about the graffiti artist “Chin” was also very interesting. Judging by the fact that Chin did not care about paying fines or going to jail, the artist just wanted their words to be heard. Chin said “It will be worth it if just one person sees what I’ve done and asks themselves, ‘Why should Ai Wei Wei be silenced?’’ I think that Chin is trying to make people realize that Ai actually had valid points about the government, and maybe if they listened to him, they could make their country better for their citizens.
To answer the underlying question, “who is afraid of Ai Wei Wei and why?” I think the clear answer is that the government is afraid of him. They recognize the fact that he is a powerful man in the society and people listen to his criticism. If the topics of disagreement within the government become large enough, the citizens in the form of protests, or riots could take actions. Since the government is afraid of Ai Wei Wei, their only line of defense is to detain him and attempt to keep him from speaking out against their ways.
Ai Wei Wei is definitely a brave man to speak out against an entire government when others are too afraid and do not know how to. I watched the video that interviewed him and Ai Wei Wei is not a man to fear. He has simply realized that his homeland has nothing of any real value to offer to the world. He speaks of how all China has to offer is cheap labor. Ai Wei Wei is a man who knows what he is discussing and that he has the right to speak out about it. The government fears him because he could open up the eyes of others and his ideas would spread to many more. The government seems to have issues with being critiqued and are attempting to hush him up to cover up the flaws.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Vicki when she says: “As I watched the video about Ai Weiwei I was inspired, and found myself wanting to learn about Ai Weiwei and the problems he sees occurring in China. In the video, Weiwei says that he must speak out for those who are too afraid to speak, and I found this quality very heroic and saw leadership qualities’ in him.” I am sure that other people have had the same curious reaction when they heard of an artist being focused on and taken in by an entire government. This raises a lot of questions about who the artists is, what he is doing and why the government has such a problem with it. Once I learned more about the situation I found it ridiculous that he was taken in after speaking his mind. The freedom of speech is a human right and no government should ever deprive their people of such a right. Wei Wei definitely has the makings of a leader in him and he is being a strong role model for the silent. I hope that Wei Wei's voice can continue to be heard and that other people are inspired by his determination to change China for the better.
Chin, a university student, already sees the potential the Ai Wei Wei has to make a change. She has been intentionally tagging specific areas with the face of Wei Wei and the message: “Who's afraid of Ai Wei Wei?” Chin says:“It will be worth it if just one person sees what I’ve done and asks themselves, ‘Why should Ai Wei Wei be silenced?’’. Using art Chin is expressing her voice. I believe she has leadership qualities due to the fact she is willing to pay a fine and go to jail just to have her voice heard. That kind of strength is important and admirable. And because of her speaking out and using her voice to express herself she has Hong Kong's police Regional Crime Unit chasing after her. This only adds to the absurdity of the Chinese government. That task unit deals with rape and murder and other serious crimes. This sends the message that the government believes that freedom of speech is a serious crime. I hope that all this global attention towards China and the government's issues will pressure them to make real change. If not, people like Ai Wei Wei and Chin will continue to speak out for change until it happens.
I agree with what Samantha said about how arresting Chin will only cause more trouble and revolting. I feel that Ai Wei Wei has done great things for China, and Chin is finally giving him the recognition he deserves. He has revolutionary ideas for China, and brings huge contributions to it. He states that china is only known for its low wage labor, and that he wants to bring wisdom to the country. I think that overall Chin is doing good things for her country, but it is hard to support public vandilism. Though it is art it is still illigal, and costly to the personal owners to repair. Overall I still do support what Chin is doing, and i think it is benefitial to china, and I hope that Ai Wei Wei will soon be released!
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to see that the Chinese Government is afraid of Ai Wei Wei only because he is using his voice and telling people his opinions. In America that is a very normal thing to do. It is obvious in China though that your real opinions are not usually shared so publicly. I am proud of Ai Wei Wei. I think it takes a lot of strength to stand out in an area where freedom can be easily taken away. I agree with Jamie that "This sends the message that the government believes that freedom of speech is a serious crime." The Chinese government should have better things to take care of than a man who speaks his mind. It's wrong of that government to not only put Ai Wei Wei in jail but to also target his friends and family. I'm glad Ai Wei Wei is getting attention from other places than the Chinese Government. I agree with his mother that it's very sad that the government is misusing its power and laws for its own purpose. It's a good thing Chin is helping spread Ai Wei Wei's message and I find it very elegant that she's doing it through art. I think it's wrong that her graffiti is seen as a serious crime by the police and that a special unit is focusing on catching her. The police should be used for serious crimes not minor ones that the government happens to be annoyed over. I hope Ai Wei Wei continues to speak his mind and I agree with his statement that, "Life is never guaranteed to be safe." I can see why he has so many followers and why the government is afraid of him. He makes you inspired to learn about what's happening in China and change it.
ReplyDeleteWho is afraid of Ai Wei Wei? Well I would like to start by answering that it seems like the political side of China is scared. He is a very looked up to man by the Chinese community. He is a man the people look up too, so if he has something to say, then people will listen and go along with it. Especially when he is being taxed for something that was not his fault, and plus he did not ask to be "captured" and taken into police watch. So he has a right to say that he thinks it is wrong he is being taxed. The government is probably mostly scared that by him speaking out, the rest of the community will rebel too. Just like the girl who spray paints his face all around the city. Trying to prove a point. Why is everyone afraid? What has he done? The government is not fair over there. It needs to be changed.
ReplyDeleteI watched the article of A Wei Wei, and what he is trying to make the community to speak out. I agree with my classmates that he is inspirational, strong, and how the government seems to be afraid of him. I feel that the government is more afraid of him because he is inspiration to other people, and as Molly said, "people will listen and go along with it" saying what he says and does, people will follow. The girl who spray paints A Wei Wei’s face everywhere in China is just one follower. That shows how strongly he impacts the community and the government. By: Vivian Kattell
ReplyDeleteThe Chinese Government has several difficult challenges on their hands. They want to maintain a communist dictatorship and participate in the world economy. If they allow too much free expression from their enormous population, they risk rebellion and anarchy that could easily topple the government and existing structure. But they must allow some freedom or the Chinese people may drive harder and faster for change. Their economy is growing, the urban populations are gaining prosperity and access to technology and information, which are the vehicles that critics like Ai Wei Wi are using to deliver their messages about freedom and creativity.
ReplyDeleteSo the Chinese Government should be concerned about his influence.
I disagree with the artist who is bombing china with cans of spray paint and Ai Wei Wei's face. She is defacing property which doesn't belong to her. In my opinion, The Chinese government places too many restrictions on expression which ultimately encourages behavior like this. At some point, extreme repression can lead to a form of rebellion which is justified at some point to overturn it. Easy for me to say from my well-fed, position of relative freedom in the US -- but the Chinese people are gaining more freedom with each day and a peaceful, long-term, but determined effort is a better solution.
the Chinese government is known to be very strict with their freedom of speech, but what they tend not to realize is that you cant lead with out the people behind you. with this being said the Chinese government is making many improvements since the early 1990's, with all the protests that went on then. but their still not comfortable with influential people talking against them, as shown by Ai Wei Wei, and for Chin i think that she is doing a favor to the society by how the punishment fits the crime. for Chin to spy paint the hot government spots and getting away with it and all the publicity its getting she is likely to inspire change in the Chinese government but like Geekdaddy said she is still defacing public property and will never be able to "claim her fame". so she is doing her part in a daily strugle in china, I know I for one would not be able to live in a society where i have to watch what i say in fear of going to jail.
ReplyDelete-Brian McLaurin
After watching this video and reading about it, I realized how different other individual's freedoms can be. The Chinese Government is very strict and they do not like that Ai Wei Wei is using his own voice and telling people his ideas and opinions. This almost seems to scare the Chinese Governement which seems odd because here in America, vocing your opinion is natural.I agree with Molly that the government deffinatley needs to be changed for the future. It is not fair to take away the public voices of the people. Clearly, people think that Ai Wei Wei should not be able to expresses his opinions in public but, i think that is wrong. If I was Ai Wei Wei, I would want to voice my opinions as well but, dont know if I would have the courage to do so since the government can hold so much power. The Chinese government should appreciate that a person is willing to voice their ideas, rather than punish them. The punishment that the Chinese government sprung upon Ai Wei Wei is rediculous, not only did that put him in jail but, they went after his friends and family who had done nothing wrong. It would be exciting if other people began to publicly voice and express their ideas. You can punish one individual but, if a whole group starts to do the same then it will become much more difficult.
ReplyDelete-Rachelle