On this episode of China Uncensored, no, you can't play with LEGOs!
Hi, welcome to China Uncensored, I'm your host Chris Chappell.
So, you know what's hard about growing up?
Finding out that your beloved childhood icons aren't what you imagined.
For example, I used to be a Hulkamaniac.
And who didn't love the Cosby Show?
But now, has the last plastic-bricked bastion of my childhood been knocked down?
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei has slammed LEGO for refusing to supply him with a bulk order
he wanted
for an upcoming exhibition on free speech at Australia's National Gallery of Victoria.
And I know from personal experience, if you slam LEGOs,
they really get stuck together and just impossible to separate.
Ai Weiwei is well known for criticizing Chinese censorship through his art.
And now he is accusing LEGO of censoring him because of alleged pressure from the Chinese
regime.
So Ai Weiwei handled the rejection in the mature, adult manner that one would expect
from the eccentric artist.
But does Ai Weiwei have enough of a case to build on?
A LEGO spokesman defended their decision by saying they never supply bulk orders for projects
with a political context.
Yes, LEGO stays away from politics.
That's why for LEGO's 50th anniversary in 2008,
when they had their ad agency create a series of ads called "Making History,"
they picked only nonpolitical topics.
Like the Muhammad Ali fight. Or...
Wait, is that the fall of the Berlin Wall?
Well, I'm sure Chinese politics would be off limits...
Oh.
Maybe it's just bulk orders.
Except that in preparation for Ai Weiwei's 2014 art exhibit on Alcatraz,
the group he worked with told LEGO from the beginning that they were
"seeking LEGO bricks for a project... exploring freedom of expression."
And then LEGO did sell to them in bulk.
That exhibition featured 176 prisoners of conscience,
including many from China.
So come on, LEGO! Why the sudden change of heart?
Oh.
So Ai Weiwei pointed out that LEGO's rejection came on the heels this 300 million dollar
Legoland China deal.
But whether LEGO was right or wrong to deny Ai's request, the Internet has clearly sided
with Ai.
He's set up several, uh, cars, where people can donate LEGOs to him.
And this whole incident has made LEGO look pretty bad.
In fact you could say it's making the company's reputation fall to pieces.
But maybe we've been focusing too much attention on Mr. Lego,
when maybe the real bad guy is this one.
It's not certain whether LEGO's decision was a result of pressure by the CCP.
But if it were, LEGO would hardly be alone.
Because under the CCP, the price of doing business in China is to play by their rules,
or face the consequences.
So what do you think?
Should LEGO have sold to Ai? Who's to blame?
Let me know what you think in the comments section below.
Once again I’m Chris Chappell. See you next time.
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The US guided missile destroyer the USS Lassen sailed within 12 nautical miles of Chinese
territory...
as long as you consider artificial islands built on submerged reefs part of China's territory,
which no one besides China does.