Ai Weiwei unveils Sydney Biennale artwork, talks change in China

Ai, one of China's most high-profile artists and politicalactivists, has become a vocal campaigner on migration as thenumber of people forced from their homes largely by violenceand war has reached a record 65 million.

In Sydney, Ai presented his 60-metre-longinflatable raft, carrying about 300 oversized human figures, aday after China removed the term limits from its constitution,raising concerns about a return to strongman rule.

"China has always been emperor state," Ai, 60, told theAustralian Broadcasting Corp in an interview.

"It doesn't matter if it has the title of communist, nowcapitalism. It's a fatalistic society, so [if]it changes leaderor not change leader, the system and the culture always stay thesame."

Refugee-themed work at Sydney Biennale

First designed for the National Gallery of Prague, Ai's Lawof the Journeyis made from the rubber used by vessels carryingrefugees across the Mediterranean Sea.

Installed on Cockatoo Island, a former shipbuilding site, itwill serve as the centrepiece of the Sydney Biennale, runningfrom Friday to June 11.

Ai said the location was appropriate because of Australia'scontroversial policy of detaining unauthorized boat arrivals incamps in the Pacific island nation of Nauru and Papua NewGuinea's Manus Island.

"Australia's refugee record is quite poor, internationally,"he added.

"There's no excuse for any kind of policy [that]should notconsider protecting basic human rights."

The artist, who helped design the stadium of the 2008Beijing Olympic Games but was arrested in 2011 following criticism of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, said he wasnot concerned the changes could bring a regime with "no end".

"People's lives [are]getting better," he said.

"You see so many youngsters study outside and I think thatthe Western idea to respect very basic human values has becomemore and more important for a society to maintain thecompetition."

Ai is set to speak on Thursday at the Australian launch ofhis asylum-seeker documentary, Human Flow, at the Sydney OperaHouse.

Ai, who has lived in Berlin since 2015, said he wanted thefilm to make people see refugees in a different light, as theywere victims of man-made problems.