The City: Beijing
Ai Weiwei finds China’s capital is a prison where people go mad.
Beijing is two cities. One is of power and of money. People don’t care who their neighbors are; they don’t trust you. The other city is one of desperation. I see people on public buses, and I see their eyes, and I see they hold no hope. They can’t even imagine that they’ll be able to buy a house. They come from very poor villages where they’ve never seen electricity or toilet paper.月28日，美國"每日野獸網"（The Daily Beast）登載艾未未發表在美國《新聞周刊》上的文章《雙面北京》（The City: Beijing），他在文章中稱"北京是一座暴力城市"，是一個"噩夢"。
艾未未表示，北京是兩座城市，一個是"權力和金錢"的北京，人們喪失基本的信任，被切斷記憶；另一個是"絕望"的北京。底層公眾被剝奪了基本的權利，對未來無法抱有希望。艾未未以自已被秘密關押的經歷，揭示在他被限制自由的八十多天時間裡，他的妻子以各種方式在找尋失踪的丈夫在哪裡，但無法在警察或國家領導人那裡找到答案。艾未未說：北京你絕對不能相信司法制度。
在公園他邂逅的一些人，會向他豎大拇指或拍拍他的肩膀，人們被迫以這種秘密的方式表達對他的支持、安慰、讚許。有人說："未未，請離開這個國家吧。"或是"好好活著，看著他們死。"
艾未未寫下：要么離開，要么耐心點，看他們如何滅亡。我真的不知道 我要做什麼？
海外媒體對此認為，艾未未已經對他獲釋以後的嚴格限制越來越失去耐心。據早前德國之聲採訪艾未未的母親，她說中共規定艾未未在獲釋後一年內，不允許接受采訪、在網絡上發言或是與其他維權人士交流。早在8月5日，艾未未連續幾天在推特上發布信息，批評中國政府對北京維權人士王荔蕻的起訴，但近期他未再更新推特。
艾未未：我還好
8月28日的文章，路透社已經向艾未未本人證實文章系他本人所寫。憑此文章，很多公共知識分子、艾未未的微博粉絲認為一個具有完整"艾未未精神"的他再次歸來。
德國之聲電話聯繫到艾未未，他表示不方便在電話中多說，但在文章發表後，目前還沒有遇到"麻煩"："我的電話不是應該說太多話，挺好的，我沒有什麼事。"
艾未未的弟弟-作家艾丹說艾未未的問題要靠時間來解決："他的問題消停一下最好，就是時間問題，沒有別的辦法。"
"在精神上影響更多的年輕人"
在荷蘭的時政評論人立裡也對此發表了看法，他表示這篇具有語言之美和人性貫穿其中的文章，在精神上會影響更多的年輕人。
他說這篇文章發表在海外的媒體是相得益彰的，因為大多數在海外的人，並不真正了解中國，他們對中國的印象可能來自北京繁華街頭的櫥窗，但艾未未的文章加上他作為世界範圍內知名的藝術家的影響力，會讓國外的人更了解中國的現狀。
他認為艾未未完成這篇文章是出自他良知的本性，也在此前也應預估過風險；就如廣州中山大學教授艾曉明最新的紀錄片《陽光灑到地上》中，艾曉明問艾未未："你預料到王荔蕻會被抓嗎？"艾未未說："我預料到任何人都會被抓。"立裡認為這表明艾未未已經非常清楚，在中國任何一個說真話的人都有可能被抓。
立裡也表示，包括媒體和公眾都沒有必要就艾未未發表文章一事，揣度中共會採取什麼措施，他認為這樣的擔心從某種意義上反映了群體的恐懼，也從側面默認中共的非法標準。他說："艾未未說了什麼做了什麼才是我們應該關注的焦點。"
作者：吳雨
責編：謝菲
Every year millions come to Beijing to build its bridges, roads, and houses. Each year they build a Beijing equal to the size of the city in 1949. They are Beijing’s slaves. They squat in illegal structures, which Beijing destroys as it keeps expanding. Who owns houses? Those who belong to the government, the coal bosses, the heads of big enterprises. They come to Beijing to give gifts—and the restaurants and karaoke parlors and saunas are very rich as a result.
Beijing tells foreigners that they can understand the city, that we have the same sort of buildings: the Bird’s Nest, the CCTV tower. Officials who wear a suit and tie like you say we are the same and we can do business. But they deny us basic rights. You will see migrants’ schools closed. You will see hospitals where they give patients stitches—and when they find the patients don’t have any money, they pull the stitches out. It’s a city of violence.
The worst thing about Beijing is that you can never trust the judicial system. Without trust, you cannot identify anything; it’s like a sandstorm. You don’t see yourself as part of the city—there are no places that you relate to, that you love to go. No corner, no area touched by a certain kind of light. You have no memory of any material, texture, shape. Everything is constantly changing, according to somebody else’s will, somebody else’s power.
To properly design Beijing, you’d have to let the city have space for different interests, so that people can coexist, so that there is a full body to society. A city is a place that can offer maximum freedom. Otherwise it’s incomplete.
I feel sorry to say I have no favorite place in Beijing. I have no intention of going anywhere in the city. The places are so simple. You don’t want to look at a person walking past because you know exactly what’s on his mind. No curiosity. And no one will even argue with you.
None of my art represents Beijing. The Bird’s Nest—I never think about it. After the Olympics, the common folks don’t talk about it because the Olympics did not bring joy to the people.
There are positives to Beijing. People still give birth to babies. There are a few nice parks. Last week I walked in one, and a few people came up to me and gave me a thumbs up or patted me on the shoulder. Why do they have to do that in such a secretive way? No one is willing to speak out. What are they waiting for? They always tell me, “Weiwei, leave the nation, please.” Or “Live longer and watch them die.” Either leave, or be patient and watch how they die. I really don’t know what I’m going to do.
My ordeal made me understand that on this fabric, there are many hidden spots where they put people without identity. With no name, just a number. They don’t care where you go, what crime you committed. They see you or they don’t see you, it doesn’t make the slightest difference. There are thousands of spots like that. Only your family is crying out that you’re missing. But you can’t get answers from the street communities or officials, or even at the highest levels, the court or the police or the head of the nation. My wife has been writing these kinds of petitions every day, making phone calls to the police station every day. Where is my husband? Just tell me where my husband is. There is no paper, no information.
The strongest character of those spaces is that they’re completely cut off from your memory or anything you’re familiar with. You’re in total isolation. And you don’t know how long you’re going to be there, but you truly believe they can do anything to you. There’s no way to even question it. You’re not protected by anything. Why am I here? Your mind is very uncertain of time. You become like mad. It’s very hard for anyone. Even for people who have strong beliefs.
This city is not about other people or buildings or streets but about your mental structure. If we remember what Kafka writes about his Castle, we get a sense of it. Cities really are mental conditions. Beijing is a nightmare. A constant nightmare.
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