so mao zedong won, and chiang kai—shek lost. dn't win completely, and chiang didn't lose completely. by the autumn of 1949, the communists had driven the nationalists out of all the major cities. they fled to the island of taiwan. translation: you could say leaving mainland china was the lowest moment in his life, but he never accepted defeat. i worked with chiang kai—shek very closely for five years. i really respected him. he was very strict, but he was always very good to me. chiang kai—shek‘s life was very orderly. he'd get up at six in the morning every day. he didn't smoke or drink. he was very disciplined. he issued a lot of orders — to be honest, so many that it was hard to keep track of them. some people say chiang kai—shek was a dictator. but this is unfair, and it's slander. but because we were still against the communists in mainland china, he did impose martial law. 0bviously, that is antidemocratic, but it was to protect taiwan. his goal wasn'tjust to make taiwan independent. he wanted to achieve freedom and democra

mao zedong one and chiang kai—shek loss.win completely, and chiang kai—shek did not lose completely. by the autumn of 1949, the communists had driven the nationalists out of all the major cities. they fled to the island of taiwan. translation: you could say leading mainland china was the lowest moment in his life. but he never accepted defeat. i worked with chiang kai—shek very closely for five yea rs. kai—shek very closely for five years. i kai—shek very closely for five yea rs. i really kai—shek very closely for five years. i really respected him. he was very strict. but he was always very good to me. chiang kai—shek‘s life was very ordinary. he would get up life was very ordinary. he would get up every day at 6am. he didn't smoke oi’ up every day at 6am. he didn't smoke or drink. he was very disciplined. he issued a lot of orders. to be honest, so many that it was hard to keep track of them. some people say chiang kai—shek was a dictator. but this is unfair, and it is slender. but because we were still against the communi

a collection of handwritten notes by mao zedong, the founder of modern china, has been sold at auctionliterature and poetry, this story is popular on bbc.com. let's take a look at some front pages from around the world. the japan times turns its attention to the simmering confrontation between the us and north korea. it says america plans to take action to impose tougher sanctions against pyongyang within weeks following its recent missile test. singapore's straits times reports on a pile up on a major expressway in johor. it shows a picture of the crash between two trucks, which it says blocked two of the three main expressway lanes to malaysia. china daily‘s business section leads on plans to beef up the country's cyber security. but also focuses on the chinese—owned london taxi company going global with its electric cabs. and it says the new cars will maintain the iconic look of the london black cab, with its rectangular grille and circular headlights. moving on to trending, babita. one of my favorite dance songs is in the news. well, rico, i know how much you love gagnam style, and

what you're seeing in the background is a portrait of china's revered former dictator mao zedong, part in which weiwei gives the finger to other symbols of power around the world. >> ai weiwei: --just like this. ( laughs ) >> williams: it-- ( laughs ) --are, are we creating a new-- a new ai weiwei as we stand here? >> ai weiwei: you can see. it's so easy. everybody can do it. >> williams: easy. certainly not subtle, and maybe a little silly. but the chinese authorities took them very seriously. they thought it was subversive. why was the regime frightened of art? >> ai weiwei: because they're afraid of freedom, and art is about freedom. >> williams: they're afraid of freedom. >> ai weiwei: yes. >> williams: are you an artist, or are you an activist? >> ai weiwei: i think, artist and activist is the same thing. as artist, you always have to be an activist. >> williams: you have to be political to be a good artist. >> ai weiwei: i think every art, if it's relevant, is political. >> evan osnos: that's the purpose of his life. >> williams: evan osnos is a writer for "the new yorker," who s