Kristie Lu Stout blogged this on Boing Boing:
“There are no dissidents in China.”
That’s a direct quote from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman.
Ma Zhaoxu was asked earlier today about a Beijing court upholding an 11 year jail term for Liu Xiaobo, one of China’s most high-profile activists.
According to him, they simply don’t exist.
Here is the full text of Kristie’s post.
And the following translation is from Siweiluozi Blog:
In response, the well-known artist and prolific blogger Ai Weiwei posted this deconstruction of the “multi-layered” meaning of Ma’s statement, the core of which I translate below:
1. Dissidents are criminals.
2. Only criminals have dissident ideas.
3. The distinction between criminals and non-criminals is whether they have dissident views.
4. If you think China has dissidents, you’re a criminal.
5. The reason China has no dissidents is because they have already become criminals.
6. Does anyone have a dissenting view about what I’ve said?