He was responding to a question about the cancellation of his exhibition by the Lisson Gallery in London in November following comments on social media referencing the Israel-Hamas conflict.
His post, which was subsequently deleted, suggested the “sense of guilt around the persecution of the Jewish people” had been transferred and used against the Arab world.
Referring to his own family’s exile when he was one year old, the activist said: "I grew up within this heavy political censorship.
“I realise now, today in the West, you are doing exactly the same.”
He drew parallels with the disastrous purge under Mao, which took China to the brink of anarchy.
Criticising the suspension of two New York University professors for comments related to Gaza, Ai said: "This is really like a cultural revolution, which is really trying to destroy anybody who have different attitudes, not even a clear opinion.
Ai’s art often addresses political issues in China and he has frequently criticised Beijing’s record on human rights and democracy.
To be fair to a large extend it is with regard to international affairs. We have many agreements with USA, that are very much dominated by USA.
Norway is in NATO, which is clearly a US dominated organisation, because they constitute more than half the defense capability of NATO.
In much the same way, USA is dominating in the west, because it’s the biggest economy and has the biggest military to enforce their policies, which is largely accepted by allies.
Trump is trying to destroy this entirely, to benefit Putin and China, I think we need to accept our international cooperation with USA, and hope it lasts a while longer.
PS: I’m from Denmark.
Yeah, but they’re talking about things like anti-BDS laws and the way the U.S. treats prisoners. I’m pretty sure Denmark doesn’t have anti-BDS laws and I know Denmark treats its prisoners much better than either the U.S. or China.
Basically, all of their criticisms are U.S.-centric.
By the way, they are now claiming that Denmark also has censorship levels at the same level as Mao’s.
Yes obviously, since Denmark is one of the top democracies in the world, with the highest level of free speech, it’s just as bad as a totalitarian regime. 😜 🤪 What an idiot. 🤡