During the discussion, Ai Weiwei, a Chinese contemporary artist and activist, voiced his opposition to Hong Kong’s proposed extradition bill because he has “no confidence in Hong Kong’s government which is not democratically elected”.
On protests currently happening in Hong Kong:
“We have seen the Hong Kong people, young people mostly, defending their rights. But this has to happen because nobody trusts China’s judicial system. They secretly detained lawyers, they have detained those people who put things on the internet. This is a society which isn’t a rule of law. They don’t have a judicial system.”
On why people are protesting:
“This is absolutely necessary and is not just for Hong Kong but globally to share Hong Kong people’s concerns. About China, is that a society that can be trusted? Or is it a society we have to defend to let them know certain things have to be defended such as human rights, freedom of speech and we cannot lose ground on those issues.”
On the role of the police in the Hong Kong protests:
“For police to be violating the basic right to maintain a peaceful demonstration…this is very clear: the police act is gradually become quite violent. We have [a] clear memory [of] what happened 30 years ago when students were sitting peacefully in Tiananmen Square. Then the end of it was tanks, then a lot of people were harmed and killed.”
On why he opposes the extradition bill:
“I totally oppose this bill because I have no confidence in Hong Kong’s government which is not democratically elected. It’s in favor with [the] Chinese government. So I don’t think they can do anything to reflect the need of Hong Kong people but rather to listen to the central government.”
Video Link: https://cnn.it/2ZjdWYV
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