--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: At the moment about 350,000 students…" description: "\"At the moment about 350,000 students return to China from abroad each year - 350,000 young and educated people. I know about them because they know me ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/ai-weiwei-824_ask-me_at-the-moment-about-350-000-students-ret_2642953.png" --- # At the moment about 350,000 students return to China from… ![“At the moment about 350,000 students return to China from abroad each year - 350,000 young and educated people. I know about them because they know me and often ask me in the street if they can take a selfie with me. These folks are creative and ironic, and the government can ultimately not…” quote by Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/ai-weiwei-824_ask-me_at-the-moment-about-350-000-students-ret_2642953.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/ai-weiwei-824_ask-me_at-the-moment-about-350-000-students-ret_2642953.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2c/ai-weiwei-824_ask-me_at-the-moment-about-350-000-students-ret_2642953.png) > “At the moment about 350,000 students return to China from abroad each year - 350,000 young and educated people. I know about them because they know me and often ask me in the street if they can take a selfie with me. These folks are creative and ironic, and the government can ultimately not control what is going on in their heads.” [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Young educated Chinese returnees are creative, ironic, and beyond government control of thought. **In simple terms:** Returning students are independent thinkers. Key Takeaway Recognize and engage their creativity. Themes youth creativity government control Mood reflective critical Type observational social commentary When to use this quote - University reunions - street encounters - media interviews Key Concepts Social dynamics identity autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How can society support their independent thought? - What role does humor play in resistance? A Different Perspective Government may still influence them through policy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [000 Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/000-students-2284681/) [Ask me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-me/) [Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) [China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china/) [China Abroad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/china-abroad-2284680/) [Creative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative/) [Educated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educated/) [Educated people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educated-people/) [Folks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folks/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Ironic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ironic/) [Know me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-me/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Return](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return/) [Return China](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/return-china-2284682/) [Selfie Folks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfie-folks-2284683/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) ## Related quotes > [It is vitally important for me, both personally and for my writing, to be able to return to China freely, so being barred entry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ma-jian/it-is-vitally-important-for-me-both-personally-and-for-my-writing-to/) [Ma Jian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ma-jian/) > [I would love to return to China one day to make films. I've been away for too long, so I'll need to spend some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-zhao/i-would-love-to-return-to-china-one-day-to-make-films-i-ve-been-away/) [Chloe Zhao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-zhao/) > [There's 150,000 students here from the Middle East. If 40% of them have overstayed their visa, don't we need to know where they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/there-s-150-000-students-here-from-the-middle-east-if-40-of-them-have/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [I suspect that 280 figure is a bit low. The reality is it's probably closer to 700 to 1,000 (students) out of the 911…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall/i-suspect-that-280-figure-is-a-bit-low-the-reality-is-it-s-probably/) [John Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall/) > [If I have to shoot 200,000 students to save China from another 100 years of disorder, so be it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/if-i-have-to-shoot-200-000-students-to-save-china-from-another-100/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [Every year, I send 1,000 students to China to study Chinese history, language, and culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucio-tan/every-year-i-send-1-000-students-to-china-to-study-chinese-history/) [Lucio Tan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucio-tan/) > [I went to University of Illinois. Big school. 35,000 students. 800 black... I was the only black in every class. Hard to be absent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godfrey/i-went-to-university-of-illinois-big-school-35-000-students-800-black/) [Godfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/godfrey/) > [“It is a tragedy, at rate at which EBOLA VIRUS is spreading in West Africa. It is a fatal disease in the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/it-is-a-tragedy-at-rate-at-which-ebola-virus-is-spreading-in-west/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [Educated people can make their own choices about their governments. And certainly for women, an education allows you to understand your rights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-bush/educated-people-can-make-their-own-choices-about-their-governments/) [Laura Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-bush/) > [God, once imagined to be an omnipresent force throughout the whole world of nature and man. has been increasingly tending to seem omniabsent. Everywhere,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corliss-lamont/god-once-imagined-to-be-an-omnipresent-force-throughout-the-whole/) [Corliss Lamont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corliss-lamont/) > [It is always a much easier task to educate uneducated people than to re-educate the mis-educated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-m-shelton/it-is-always-a-much-easier-task-to-educate-uneducated-people-than-to/) [Herbert M. Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-m-shelton/) > [“Without a experience, how can we be truly educated?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/without-a-experience-how-can-we-be-truly-educated/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [With our dramas, we have a lot of shows that feature very well-to-do, well-educated people who are driving very nice cars and living in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-dungey/with-our-dramas-we-have-a-lot-of-shows-that-feature-very-well-to-do/) [Channing Dungey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-dungey/) > [“we're looking for a planeet on the strength of a song. it's crazy I know, but its the only chance we have to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-kagan/we-re-looking-for-a-planeet-on-the-strength-of-a-song-it-s-crazy-i/) [Janet Kagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-kagan/) > [“Freedom is for the educated people who fought for it. We were slaves of the English, now we will be slaves of the educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khushwant-singh/freedom-is-for-the-educated-people-who-fought-for-it-we-were-slaves/) [Khushwant Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khushwant-singh/) ## More by Ai Weiwei > [I'm totally independent. I don't bear any responsibility to any system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-m-totally-independent-i-don-t-bear-any-responsibility-to-any-system/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [If my art has nothing to do with people's pain and sorrow, what is 'art' for?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/if-my-art-has-nothing-to-do-with-people-s-pain-and-sorrow-what-is-art/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Police in China can do whatever they want; after 81 days in arbitrary detention you clearly realise that they don't have to obey their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/police-in-china-can-do-whatever-they-want-after-81-days-in-arbitrary/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [China has a rich history that has spanned millennia. It consists of the histories of many nations and regions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/china-has-a-rich-history-that-has-spanned-millennia-it-consists-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [This world should be much more open and should be much more free, so the young people would have the chance to exercise the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/this-world-should-be-much-more-open-and-should-be-much-more-free-so/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [By participating in the society we live in, we understand our conditions and the way we relate to the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/by-participating-in-the-society-we-live-in-we-understand-our/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I see the Beijing National Stadium as an architectural project. I accepted Herzog and De Meuron's invitation to collaborate on the design, and our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-see-the-beijing-national-stadium-as-an-architectural-project-i/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [ I curated this show \[Shanghai Biennale \], I was by no means trying to shock people or be controversial. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-curated-this-show-shanghai-biennale-i-was-by-no-means-trying-to/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I think we cannot have a double standard. We cannot see our art as different from the reality. We cannot use two different sets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-think-we-cannot-have-a-double-standard-we-cannot-see-our-art-as/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [It doesn't matter where I am - China will stay in me. I don't know how far I can still walk on this road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/it-doesn-t-matter-where-i-am-china-will-stay-in-me-i-don-t-know-how/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Chinese citizens have never had the right to really express their opinions; in the constitution it says you can, but in the real world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/chinese-citizens-have-never-had-the-right-to-really-express-their/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Your own acts tell the world who you are and what kind of society you think it should be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/your-own-acts-tell-the-world-who-you-are-and-what-kind-of-society-you/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Our lives are bound by physical limits, familial ties, political conditions, and geographical restrictions. 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Chinese art has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/i-don-t-think-it-s-worth-discussing-new-directions-in-the-context-of/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) [Explore all 359 Ai Weiwei quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) ## More Ask me quotes > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [I'd always have grease in at least two places, in case the umpires would ask me to wipe one off. I never wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaylord-perry/i-d-always-have-grease-in-at-least-two-places-in-case-the-umpires/) [Gaylord Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaylord-perry/) > [I don't wear a watch because I want my arms to weigh the same. 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Don't ask me why, it just is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-yorke/space-jam-is-my-favorite-movie-don-t-ask-me-why-it-just-is/) [Thom Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-yorke/) > [If I had lost a leg, I would tell them, instead of a boy, no one would ever ask me if I was 'over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-edwards/if-i-had-lost-a-leg-i-would-tell-them-instead-of-a-boy-no-one-would/) [Elizabeth Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-edwards/) > [It is very hard to tell when I started to be a spiritual teacher. There was a time when occasionally somebody would come and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/it-is-very-hard-to-tell-when-i-started-to-be-a-spiritual-teacher/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) [Browse all 1,282 Ask me quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-me/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "At the moment about 350,000 students return to China from abroad each year - 350,000 young and educated people. I know about them because they know me and often ask me in the street if they can take a selfie with me. 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