China Artist Ai Weiwei Served With $2 Million Tax Demand
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei (Photo: BBC)
Chinese authorities have served Ai Weiwei with an official demand telling him to pay 15m yuan ($2.3m) within 15 days, the artist has said.
In an interview with Newshour, the artist said the Chinese authorities did not feel the need to justify their charges.
He said: “If they really want to do something to prove I am a bad guy, why don’t they behave themselves to make the process more transparent, to be understandable?”
The artist, one of China’s most famous people, was held for almost three months earlier this year before being accused of “economic crimes”.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.