The protests in China are unprecedented but won't change anything, says Chinese dissident Ai Weiwei

• Chinese artist Ai Weiwei says the protests in China are too loosely organized to make an impact.
• Ai, a dissident in exile, likened the protests to "a plate of loose sand."

Famed Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei says the protests in his homeland might be unprecedented, but they won't change anything.

Ai, a revolutionary artist known for his criticism of the Chinese government, told DW on Friday that the protests are unlikely to have any real impact after the country's zero-COVID lockdowns are lifted.

"People mostly want to be released from confinement and go back to their normal life," Ai said.

He added that the protests remain leaderless and do not seem to have a deeper agenda beyond resisting the zero-COVID restrictions.

"As we say in a Chinese idiom, it is like a plate of loose sand," Ai said.

He added that the white sheets of paper held by protesters were a strong symbol of the desire for freedom of expression. But symbols aside, Ai does not think the protests will have a lasting effect on China or the government. Protests erupted in every major Chinese city over Thanksgiving weekend, but unrest has largely died down after the Chinese government rolled back some of its zero-COVID restrictions.

"Any type of protest in China can hardly be successful because the Party considers themselves as representative of the interests of people," Ai told DW. "So for them, there is no such thing as people's protests against them."

Ai was once a celebrated artist in China. He co-designed the Bird's Nest Stadium, one of Beijing's crown jewels. But after becoming an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, Ai in 2011 was detained in Beijing and his studio was ransacked. Ai was held for 81 days in a windowless cell at a secret police detention center, where he was watched around the clock by Chinese policemen while he slept, ate, and showered. He documented the harrowing experience in an art installation at the Venice Biennale in 2013.

Ai was also accused by the Chinese government of "tax evasion," a charge he fought in a Beijing court but lost in 2012. He now lives in Portugal.