What is important is that we actively express our thoughts and wishes, in every realm that we can access.

I was an illegal alien for many, many years. I couldn't move. If I moved I could not even get a visa back.

I also have to speak out for people around me who are afraid, who think it is not worth it or who have totally given up hope. So I want to set an example: you can do it and this is OK, to speak out.

My image of what a city should be - the super-rich and all the poor and desperate and the people who have some kind of a desire. It's a surviving game, people trying to survive on many different levels.

I think Allen [Ginsberg] was a person who's like a child.

I think optimism is whether you are still exhilarated by life, whether you are curious, whether you still believe there is possibility.

To survive, China had to open up to the West. It could not survive otherwise. This was after many millions have died of hunger in a country that was like North Korea is today. Once we became part of global competition, we had to agree to some rules. It's painful, but we had to. Otherwise there was no way to survive.