Ai Weiwei 'Gangnam Style' Parody: Criticizes Chinese Government for Banning Viral Video [WATCH]

Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei, who has always been openly critical of his government's stance regarding democracy and human rights, recently lashed out against that same government after it blocked his viral video parody of Psy's hit music video "Gangnam Style." The popular Chinese dissident and his crew posted the "horse-riding" dance video in Beijing on Wednesday - it was then blocked and deleted entirely by Chinese government officials not long afterwards.

Ai Weiwei deemed his "Gangnam Style" parody "caonima," meaning "grass mud horse." But specifically in China, the word has another, deeper connotation - it is a common phrase that many Chinese internet users exploit to mock the government's strict online controls. In the eyes of China's government, "caonima" is actually a pretty big insult.

According to 55-year-old Weiwei, "We only filmed for a bit over 10 minutes but we used a whole day to edit, and eventually put it online at midnight. After we had uploaded it, a few hours later... we found that a lot of people, tens of thousands, had already watched it. Now, in China, it has already been totally removed, deleted entirely, and you can't see it in China," Weiwei told Reuters.

Weiwei insists his take on "Gangnam Style" is an expression of individualism and should be allowed to be viewed in his country.

Good news for individuals in the States - "Caonima/Gangnam Style" can still be viewed on YouTube:

Weiwei concludes: "Overall, we feel that every person has the right to express themselves, and this right of expression is fundamentally linked to our happiness and even our existence. When a society constantly demands that everyone should abandon this right, then the society becomes a society without creativity. It can never become a happy society."