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Ai Weiwei: You can not stop the struggle for rights in China
In a remarkable interview published on the Global Times - the official organ of the Communist Party - the dissident artist claims to "want to keep fighting" against injustice. But he adds: "There is no point in overthrowing the regime. We must reform it. "
Beijing (AsiaNews) - The Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, released in June after nearly three months in prison, said that he "will fight against injustice" and that the Chinese population’s " fight for rights can not be stopped”. The statements were made during a 6 hour-long interview with the Global Times, the official International organ of the Communist Party of China. This opening was well disguised by the regime, which has used it to justify itself.
In the interview the artist - under investigation for tax evasion and released on bail - continues: " will never avoid politics, none of us can. We live in a politicized society... You give up your rights when you dodge them. Of course you might live an easier life if you abandon some rights. But there are so many injustices, and limited educational resources. They all diminish happiness. I will never stop fighting injustice".
However, the paper opens - even the Internet version - with another statement: " Overthrowing the regime through a radical revolution is not the way to solve China's problems. The most important thing is a scientific and democratic political system". Moreover, according to the editor, the artist "has refused" to talk about his detention.
At the time of his release, the dissident had pledged not to give interviews and not to intervene on Twitter, the social communication site on which he has thousands of followers. In recent days, Ai Weiwei has instead begun to publish posts on Twitter highly critical of the Beijing government, denouncing torture suffered by his collaborators in jail. Ai added that China is experiencing a "great time" for the spread of the Internet, which he said, "has made the impossible possible."