cultures and language, because visual language does not have this difficulty. what i really want to achieve through this very particular form of graphic novel, or comics, you may call it, is to approach to the younger generation, especially for gen z and teenagers, that talking about human rights sometimes can be very,

um, you know, too serious and not appealing to the younger generation, but comics or manga or graphic novels have this magic, has this language talking to our younger generation.

is not a god, just a mortal, just an individual person that can be criticised like any one of us in a society. but also the use of it for me particularly is very important, and to actually use it a weapon to defeat the censorship in china. and here's how it works. when you're kind of successfully making a very political tabooed image, bridged or connecting with a very popular image like an online meme, like winnie—the—pooh, then you're suddenly creating a huge difficulty for china's censorship, because if they've forbidden the image, then public asks questions — "why our beloved yellow bear is no longer online?" and then if they choose not to do it, then my message embedded in those memes, popular images, get its life longer in china and reach to more people. the chinese government, perhaps more than any other government in the world, is extremely adept at

information control, at surveillance, at ensuring that the chinese population does not see things that the chinese government doesn't want it to see. so what's your knowledge of whether or not people inside your homeland are able to see your work? i do have great confidence that there are a large amount of people from china... can find their way, whether they're using vpn or other methodologies, to go around the censorship system, the so—called the great firewall on internet of china. there are a lot of people using social media, like twitter or instagram or facebook. maybe some of them are just there to check the hollywood stars or k—pop. but in the same time, they're also opening the door to the free world, to letting information like my artworks to be...you know, finding the window to reach them. um, it works with multiple

layers of audience as well, because the methodology that i use is i always try there are people outside of china who have the capacity to criticise xi jinping is also a very powerful moment for the people inside of china. when people are living in china, they don't really have a voice.

trying to tell their stories that they cannot speak up inside of china, it is also an important experience for them. how did you find your way to become an artist dissident? you were a child of the post—tiananmen era. reference what happened in 1989. and yet you clearly developed a consciousness that was deeply rebellious toward the communist party and its way of running your country.

um...

well, i would doubt that.

yeah.

of the chinese state?

well, then my dream, badiucao, as the artist

showers around too. some sunny spells to the north. north.

north and west too.

bye for now.

britain and france propose a month long ceaserfire