“I think I'm a global citizen. My parents came from China, were educated in France and emigrated to the United States. And I think that opened up my mind to be able to live and work anywhere.” ThinkingMindStatesAbleParentUnitedUnited StatesCitizensChinaEducatedFranceGlobal Citizen Author:Anna Sui
“By contrast, China is a repressive regime that denies its citizens the essential freedoms of religion, political dissent and representative self-government.” SelfGovernmentPoliticalCitizensEssentialsChinaDenyRegimesContrastRepresentativesDissentFreedom Of ReligionSelf-government Author:Todd Akin
“China has not established the rule of law and if there is a power above the law there is no social justice. Everybody can be subjected to harm. I'm just a citizen: my life is equal in value to any other. But I'm thankful that when I lost my freedom so many people shared feelings and put such touching effort into helping me.” PeopleIfsHelpingFeelingsLawLife IsValuesLostSocialJusticeEffortCitizensEqualSocial JusticeChinaHarmTouchingRule Of LawAbove The Law Author:Ai Weiwei
“One of the things that I realized when I left office was that in the 1990's citizens across the world applied more power than they had ever had, as compared with the government, because of more people living under democracies than dictatorships for the first time, the power of the internet, which the young Chinese used to basically change China's policy on the SARS epidemic, and shut it down, and because of the rise in non-governmental organizations like my foundation.” PeopleWorldFirstsGovernmentYoungUsedLeftDemocracyPolicyInternetCitizensOfficeFirst TimeOrganizationDown AndFoundationChinaI RealizedChineseDictatorshipEpidemicsSars Author:William J. Clinton
“There is a long tradition in China for writers and journalists to take pen names, partly as protection from retaliation by authorities. If Facebook requires the use of real names, that could potentially put Chinese citizens in danger.” IfsLongRealUseNamesDangerCitizensAuthorityTraditionChinaProtectionChineseJournalistPensRetaliation Author:Michael Anti
“Environmentally, business in America in 1970 was very similar to business in China today. Even if a CEO wanted to be a responsible corporate citizen, he (and they were all "he's" then) simply couldn't invest a billion dollars in pollution controls to produce a product that was indistinguishable from those of his competitors. His products would be priced out of the market. Passing laws that created a clean, level playing field for whole industries had to be a core focus of the 1970s.” IfsWholeWould BeTodayWantedAmericaLawLevelsFocusFieldsProduceProductsIndustryCitizensResponsibleDollarsCleanChinaBillionsCorePassingPassingsCorporatePollutionCeoCompetitorsPlaying FieldsLevel Playing FieldPollution ControlPassing Laws Author:Denis Hayes
“I think our legal system needs to be developed. Cases of citizens who are detained and then have to wait much too long for a trial - that is scary, for everyone. When someone commits a crime he needs to be charged quickly. Why does this take so long in many cases? I don't know. Is it because our legal system is still rudimentary? China has promised to modernize its legal system. This has high priority.” ThinkingKnowsNeedsLongDoeStillsWaitingCasesCrimeCitizensScaryChinaPrioritiesTrialsCommitLegal System Author:Zhang Xin
“If you do not learn English in this country, you cannot get anywhere. We are in America. We are not in Mexico, we are not in China, we are not in Saudi Arabia - we speak English in this country! And what bilingual education does, is keep them from learning English, so they are doomed to be second-class citizens.” IfsDoeCountryAmericaSpeakClassCitizensChinaMexicoDoomedArabiaSaudi ArabiaSaudisSpeak EnglishSecond Class CitizensLearning English Author:Rafael Cruz
“China restricts the society's freedom of speech. The Communist Party imposes these limits because it lacks confidence towards the future and has no ideals. Nowadays, China is experiencing the detrimental effects of such decisions. Its citizens have no creativity.” DecisionPartyCreativityEffectsCitizensLimitsSpeechIdealsChinaCommunistFreedom Of SpeechDetrimentalCommunist Party Author:Ai Weiwei
“China is now urging citizens to eat less meat. Factory farming comes with immense costs to a society, and Chinese leaders are starting to recognize its implications for water use, the efficient use of grains and other food resources, and human health concerns.” HumansUseWaterLeaderCitizensCostResourcesConcernStartingChinaChineseMeatFactoriesEfficientGrainImmenseFarmingImplicationsFactory FarmingHuman Health Author:Wayne Pacelle
“We should use this public sphere and redefine - beyond China's borders - what a government is allowed to do, where its powers end and where the realm of a citizen's privacy begins.” ShouldEndsUseGovernmentCitizensChinaBordersRealmsPrivacySpheres Author:Ai Weiwei