 |
A Chinese court yesterday rejected Ai Weiwei’s appeal against a hefty fine for alleged tax evasion which the acclaimed artist and government critic has called an attempt to silence his activism.
“No change in the original verdict,” Ai told reporters after emerging from the Beijing court where the ruling was issued.
Ai, 55, had been seeking an open trial on the allegations of tax evasion by the company he founded, Fake Cultural Development, which had resulted in a $2.4mn fine by the Beijing tax bureau last year.
The burly, wispy-bearded avant-garde artist, who denies the allegations, said the ruling by the intermediate court marked his last chance to contest the fine in court.
Indignant supporters had earlier collected $1.3mn to pay the bond required to challenge the charge, with some even throwing money over the walls into his courtyard home.
The bond will be used to pay part of the fine, but Ai did not indicate whether or how he planned to repay the rest of the fine, nor did he make clear what his next move might be.
“As far as I understand, this is it. Anything else, I need to ask my lawyers,” he said.
“The court completely refused to respect the facts, they did not give us a chance to present our case and ignored the rights of the taxpayer,” Ai added.
The son of a poet revered by China’s early Communist leaders, Ai helped design the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium for the 2008 Beijing Games, an event that brought worldwide prestige to the ruling Communist Party.
But the painter, sculptor, photographer and architect has since emerged as a fierce government critic, often through his prolific use of the Internet and social media.
He has called the tax accusation an attempt by China’s communist authorities to “crush” him for his activism.
His outspoken criticism of China’s leaders — he has referred to them as “gangsters” — and involvement in sensitive social campaigns have since made him a thorn in the government’s side.
He is known for tallying the number of schoolchildren killed in a 2008 earthquake, a taboo subject because many schools collapsed while other buildings did not, fuelling suspicion that government corruption led to shoddy construction.
Ai said police detained and beat him in 2009 to prevent him from testifying at the trial of another activist who investigated the issue, and later underwent surgery in Germany as a result of his injuries.
He was taken into custody for 81 days last year during a round-up of activists as popular revolts gathered force in the Middle East.
Upon his release he was accused of tax evasion and barred from leaving the country for one year.