Chinese artist Ai Weiwei: Western boycott of Beijing Olympics is ‘a joke’
15 February 2022 |
3:54 pm
He is the most famous Chinese dissident and one of the best-known contemporary artists in the world. Ai Weiwei was harassed by the Chinese authorities, who bulldozed his Shanghai studio, sent him to jail without charge and drove him out of his country. After the February 2 publication of the French translation of his memoir, "1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows", the artist sat with Eve Jackson to talk about the moment in a Chinese prison when he decided to write his life’s story for his son and what he learned growing up in a labour camp with his persecuted father, the poet Ai Qing.
Related
Related
22 Jan
The disappearance of chimpanzees is accelerating in Guinea Conakry due to poaching, as well as timber and mineral exploitation. To reverse it, one project is raising chimpanzees and preparing them for a return to the wild.
21 Jan
The West is changing its strategy and now wants to supply tanks to Ukraine. A dangerous escalation? Our guests: Christoph von Marschall (Tagesspiegel), Jessica Berlin (German Marshall Fund), Roman Goncharenko (DW).
20 Jan
As the Ukraine Contact Group prepares to meet at the US Ramstein air base in Germany, NATO membes and alliance allies seem set to upgrade arms deliveries to Ukraine. This may include the German Leopard 2 battle tank.
26 Jan
The German anti-war drama is nominated for best picture and best international feature. DW spoke with director Edward Berger.
31 Jan
Mining giant Rio Tinto has apologised for losing a tiny radioactive capsule that went missing as it was being transported across Western Australia. An emergency hunt for the device, which is about the size of a pea, is under way along the 1,400km (870 mile) route.
18 Feb
The government in Chisinau has fallen after a year and a half in office, amid inflation and energy security concerns. The war in neighboring Ukraine has also taken its toll on the small nation.
25 Feb
Kyiv is already preparing runways for the western planes, which could prove decisive in the war against Russia. On the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Poland will push for a decision to deliver F-16s.
23 Feb
Vladimir Putin claims the Russian economy has withstood Western sanctions, as he prepares to mark one year since the invasion of Ukraine. While Russia's GDP has contracted less than many analysts expected, Beata Javorcik of the EBRD explains that's largely the result of years of "sanctions-proofing", and doesn't mean that households and businesses aren't suffering.
24 Feb
When people in Cameroon break a bone or have a skeletal disorder, they mostly turn to traditional masseurs who are also bone setters. Although doctors warn of the dangers of the practice, these masseurs are beloved in Cameroon. DW meets one of them.
30 Mar
As the West cracks down on Chinese tech, video surveillance firms are also facing increased scrutiny. But global demand for Chinese surveillance cameras isn't waning, despite fears they could be used for spying.
22 Apr
With German and other European troops leaving the Sahel region of Africa, German officials are looking for new ways to keep extremist groups there at bay.
Latest
2 hours ago
US Vice President Kamala Harris will head the new federal office, as she and Biden gear up for the 2024 election. The White House efforts towards gun control are unlikely to be effective without the support of Congress.
2 hours ago
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was optimistic about the prospect of reaching an agreement with Saudi Arabia, even as the peace pact still faces major hurdles.
2 hours ago
During a speech in France, the Catholic leader urged a humane pan-European response to migration. French President Emmanuel Macron attended the address as his government deliberates a harsher response to asylum-seekers.
3 hours ago
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the US takes "very, very seriously" incidents of "transnational repression," adding that he wants to ensure "accountability."
3 hours ago
An explosion erupted at a warehouse for smuggled fuel in southern Benin. Benin's informal economy is heavily reliant on selling smuggled Nigerian fuel on the black market.
4 hours ago
Pakistan's parliamentary elections will be held next January, the country's election authority announced on Thursday, delaying the vote that was initially tabled for November. The Election Commission of Pakistan said the elections are scheduled for the last week of January.