BEIJING (AP) 鈥� When the artist Ai Weiwei was picked to help design Beijing鈥檚 Bird鈥檚 Nest stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics, he hoped the Games and the venue's distinct architecture 鈥� the instantly recognizable weave of curving steel beams 鈥� would symbolize China鈥檚 new openness.
He was disappointed.
The Chinese dissident widely regarded as one of the world鈥檚 greatest living artists has repeatedly described the stadium and the 2008 Olympics as a 鈥渇ake smile鈥� that his native country presented to the world.
The Bird鈥檚 Nest is again front and center as it holds Friday's opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics. Beijing is the first city to hold both the Summer and Winter Games, and Ai expects more of the same.
鈥淎s an architect, my goal was the same as other architects, that is, to design it as perfectly as possible,鈥� Ai told The Associated Press in an interview over email. 鈥淭he way it was used afterwards went in the opposite direction from our ideals. We had hoped that our architecture could be a symbol of freedom and openness and represent optimism and a positive force, which was very different from how it was used as a promotional tool in the end.鈥�
Even before his fame landed him the design job working with the Swiss architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, Ai had been an unrelenting critic of the Chinese Communist Party. He was jailed in 2011 in China for unspecified crimes and now lives in exile in Portugal. He has also lived in exile in Germany 鈥� he still maintains a studio there 鈥� and in Britain.
His art 鈥� which also includes sculpture, photography, video and the written word 鈥� is almost always provocative, and he offers scathing commentary on the censorship and lack of civil liberties in his homeland.
He used his dashed hopes for the Bird鈥檚 Nest to illustrate how China has changed since 2008, a time when the Olympics were seen as a 鈥渃oming out鈥� party for China.
When the International Olympic Committee awarded Beijing the Olympics in 2001, it said the Games could help improve human rights. But Ai termed the 2008 Olympics a 鈥渓ow point鈥� as migrant workers were forced out of the city, small shops were shuttered and street vendors removed. Blocks-long billboards popped up, painted with palm trees and beach scenes, to hide shabby neighborhoods from view.
鈥淭he entire Olympics took place under the situation of a blockade,鈥� Ai told AP. 鈥淔or the general public, there was no joy in participation. Instead, there was a close collaboration between the IOC and the Chinese regime, who put on a show together in order to obtain economic and political capital.鈥�
His memoir was published last year. It details the overlap of his life and career with that of his father, Ai Qing, a famous poet who was sent into internal exile in 1957, the year Ai Weiwei was born.
In the book, Ai writes that he watched the opening ceremony away from the stadium on a television screen, and jotted down the following.
鈥淚n this world where everything has a political dimension, we are now told we mustn鈥檛 politicize things: This is simply a sporting event, detached from history and ideas and values 鈥� detached from human nature, even.鈥�
The IOC and China again say the Olympics are divorced from politics. China, of course, has political ends in mind. For the IOC, the Olympics are a sports business that generates billions in sponsor and television income.
In his email, Ai described China as emboldened by the 2008 Olympics 鈥� 鈥渕ore confident and uncompromising.鈥� He said the 2008 Games were a 鈥渘egative鈥� that allowed China鈥檚 government to better shape its message. The Olympics did not change China in ways the IOC suggested, or foster civil liberties.
Instead, China used the Olympics to alter how it was perceived on the world stage and to signal its rising power.
The 2008 Games were followed a month later by the world financial crisis, and in 2012 by the rise of General Secretary Xi Jinping. Xi was a senior politician in charge of the 2008 Olympics, but the 2022 Games are his own.
鈥淪ince 2008, the government of China has further strengthened its control, and the human rights situation has further deteriorated,鈥� Ai told AP.
鈥淐hina has seen the West鈥檚 hypocrisy and inaction when it comes to issues of human rights, so they have become even bolder, more unscrupulous and more ruthless. In 2022, China will impose more stringent constraints to the internet and political life,鈥� including human rights and the press, he said.
The Communist Party 鈥渄oes not care if the West participates in the Games or not because China is confident that the West is busy enough with their own affairs.鈥�
Ai characterized the 2022 Winter Olympics and the pandemic as a case of fortunate timing for China鈥檚 authoritarian government. The pandemic will limit the movement of journalists during the Games, and it will also showcase the state鈥檚 Orwellian control.
鈥淐hina, under the system of state capitalism and especially after COVID, firmly believes that its administrative control is the only effective method; this enhances their belief in authoritarianism. Meanwhile, China thinks that the West, with its ideas of democracy and freedom, can hardly obtain effective control. So, the 2022 Olympics will further testify to the effectiveness of authoritarianism in China and the frustration of the West鈥檚 democratic regimes.鈥�
Ai was repeatedly critical of the IOC as an enabler interested solely in generating income from the Chinese market. The IOC and China both see the Games as a business opportunity. Ai suggested that many Chinese see the Olympics as another political exercise, with some people 鈥� like athletes 鈥� trying to extract value.
鈥淚n China there is only the party鈥檚 guidance, state-controlled media and people who have been brainwashed by the media,鈥� Ai wrote. 鈥淭here is no real civil society. Under this circumstance, Chinese people are not interested in the Olympics at all because it is simply a display of state politics. Nationally trained athletes exchange Olympic gold medals for economic gains for individuals or even for sport organizations; this way of doing things deviates from the Olympics鈥� original ideas.鈥�
Asked if he planned to go back to China, he said he was doubtful. And he dismissed the effectiveness of the West鈥檚 diplomatic boycott, which means government officials will not attend.
鈥淛udging from the current situation, it is more and more unlikely for me to be able to return to China,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y main point here is that the situation in China has worsened. The West鈥檚 boycott is futile and pointless. China does not care about it at all.鈥�
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AP Sports Writer Stephen Wade reported for The Associated Press from Beijing for 2 1/2 years in the lead-up to the 2008 Olympics, and also the follow-up.
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More AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/winter-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Stephen Wade, The Associated Press
