The rest of the world understands little about China's changes and the possibilities and crises that come with them.

To work in architecture you are so much involved with society, with politics, with bureaucrats. It's a very complicated process to do large projects. You start to see the society, how it functions, how it works. Then you have a lot of criticism about how it works.

My angst and my insecurity reflect the state's angst and insecurity. The state is scared too.

I always admire writers. My father was a writer, a poet. I always admire people who can clearly state their mind.

If people are being abused or even killed during an arrest, this is highly disturbing.

What counts in the end is what the government does.

The leadership knows that you cannot solve the issues of China's future with the means of the past. The demographic consequences of the one-child policy, the build-up of the welfare state, the jobs for 7 million university graduates every year, the immense corruption: Even some Western governments would have to scramble to find solutions to such problems.