Chinese dissident Ai voices criticism as Winter Games open
The dissident Chinese architect behind the Beijing stadium hosting Friday’s opening ceremony of the Winter Games has scoffed at the head of the U.N. health agency, saying China should award him “a gold medal” for not asking hard questions about its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ai Weiwei, possibly China’s best-known dissident, aired criticism of Beijing’s human rights record and response to the pandemic, in an interview with The Associated Press Friday, in which he also took aim at World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
news.yahoo.com'You’re already in the authoritarian state': Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei criticizes US 'woke' culture
Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei has warned about political correctness in the U.S., saying its perpetuation has already turned the country into an authoritarian state without people knowing it. About Ai Weiwei: Ai, 64, is a contemporary artist who openly criticizes the Chinese Communist Party. Ai’s protest against government oppression is reflected in his work.
news.yahoo.comCrushed by COVID, conventions cautiously return
Before the pandemic, conferences and trade shows attracted more than 1 billion participants and $1 trillion in direct spending annually. In-person meetings are rebounding but experts say it could be years before they attract pre-COVID crowds. (Sept. 9)
news.yahoo.com'Good feeling': Ai Weiwei picks Portugal for new show, home
Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is putting on the biggest show of his career, and he is doing it in a place he’s fallen in love with: Portugal. Ai arrived in Portugal almost two years ago and says he has no plans to return to Germany or England, where he has also lived since leaving China in 2015. “I have a great feeling” about Portugal, the artist said Thursday.
news.yahoo.comNo Oscars or sensitive art spark Hong Kong censorship fears
People walk in front of "M+" visual culture museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong, Monday, March 29, 2021. Hong Kong authorities have taken a tougher stance on opposition following Beijing’s imposition of a national security law on the city, arresting prominent pro-democracy activists and participants in anti-government protests in 2019. Earlier this month, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said authorities were on “full alert” to ensure that exhibitions in the city do not violate the national security law. Pro-Beijing lawmakers have said that some of M+’s artwork is politically sensitive and could be in breach of the legislation. Searches for “Nomadland” were blocked on the Chinese internet, which is heavily censored and filtered to scrub content deemed politically sensitive by the government.
2 films offer 2 tales ahead of Wuhan lockdown anniversary
China is rolling out the state-backed film praising Wuhan ahead of the anniversary of the 76-day lockdown in the central Chinese city where the coronavirus was first detected. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)WUHAN – Two new films about Wuhan were released Friday, the eve of the anniversary of the 76-day lockdown in the central Chinese city where the coronavirus was first detected. The state-backed film, directed by Cao Jinling, debuted in Wuhan and goes into general release in other Chinese cities on Friday. Ai’s film tackles the same story from the perspective of construction workers, delivery staff, medical workers and Wuhan residents. ___Associated Press photographer Ng Han Guan in Wuhan, China, and writer Huizhong Wu in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report.
UK judge to rule on US extradition for WikiLeaks' Assange
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will find out Monday Jan. 4, 2021, whether he can be extradited from the U.K. to the U.S. to face espionage charges over the publication of secret American military documents. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)LONDON – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will find out Monday whether he can be extradited from the U.K. to the U.S. to face espionage charges over the publication of secret American military documents. U.S. prosecutors indicted the 49-year-old Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse that carry a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison. His legal team argued that Assange would, if extradited, likely face solitary confinement that would put him at a heightened risk of suicide. Assange and his legal team will be hoping that developments in the U.S. bring an end to his ordeal if the judge grants the U.S. extradition request.
In '76 Days,' a documentary portrait of lockdown in Wuhan
An elderly woman with COVID-19, center, is escorted by two nurses after being admitted to a hospital in Wuhan, China in a scene from the documentary "76 Days." The film, shot in four Wuhan hospitals, captures a local horror before it became a global nightmare. (MTV Documentary Films via AP)NEW YORK – “Papa!” screams a hospital worker, covered from head to toe in a Hazmat suit and PPE, in the opening moments of the documentary “76 Days." Her colleagues restrain her as she sobs, moaning, “Papa, you'll stay forever in my heart.”“76 Days," shot in four Wuhan hospitals, captures a local horror before it became a global nightmare. “I feel like right now there is such a toxic background to a lot of the discussions around the virus,” Wu says.
Ai Weiwei says new security law is the end of Hong Kong
In this image made from a Skype video interview with Chinese artist dissident Ai Weiwei comments on the recent security law planned for Hong kong from a location in Cambridge, England, Wednesday, May 27, 2020. Ai Weiwei believes the newly passed national security law for Hong Kong augurs the end for the semi-autonomous city. (AP Photo/Park Juwon)SEOUL Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei believes the newly passed national security law for Hong Kong augurs the end for the semi-autonomous city. Critics of the new law say it may allow mainland security organs to interfere in local law enforcement, among other things. Young people in Hong Kong, they are smart, they are rational, and they are very brave, Ai said.
When artists go on 60 Minutes
Just as their mediums differ, the artists "60 Minutes" has profiled also have varying perspectives on what their work means. Here's a look back at some of the other artists whose work "60 Minutes" has featured. Chinese activist Ai WeiweiArt on "60 Minutes": Ai WeiweiLike Bradford, Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei thinks art should make a statement. "I think every art, if it's relevant, is political," Ai told Holly Williams when she interviewed him for "60 Minutes" in 2017. Christo and Jeanne-ClaudeArt on "60 Minutes": Christo & Jeanne-ClaudeFor husband and wife team Christo and Jeanne-Claude, art was nothing more than a striking thing to see.
cbsnews.comThe Hostage Policy, Out of Darkness, Enemy of the State
The Hostage Policy, Out of Darkness, Enemy of the State Should the U.S. government pay ransom money? Lesley Stahl reports. Then, restoring eyesight with a simple, inexpensive surgery; and, how Chinese artist Ai Weiwei became an enemy-of-the-state.
cbsnews.comArtist turns world's most notorious prison into gallery
Artist turns world's most notorious prison into gallery Fans of artist Ai Weiwei will be able to view his unusual art in an unlikely place. Soon visitors will be able to see an exhibit at one of the world's most notorious former prisons: Alcatraz. Visitors will be able to enter an area from which they had been previously barred. KPIX-TV's John Ramos reports.
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