Over the summer, my dad asked me if I had heard about Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. I had heard brief mentions of some tax woes but nothing big.
It’s a big story, my dad advised. I nodded, making a mental note to follow-up. And then I didn’t.
As with so many things (but not everything – pig’s feet are not delicious and khaki shorts are not appropriate for any occasion) Dad was right. This week, Ai made headlines all over the world when he announced that he would challenge his $2.4 million tax bill. The bill was levied against him by the Chinese government as the result of an investigation into what they’re calling tax evasion. Ai and his supporters call it something else: suppression. You see, Ai likes to talk. Openly. And his favorite target is criticism of the existing Chinese government.
If the name Ai Weiwei sounds vaguely familiar to those of us who maybe aren’t well versed in Chinese dissidents, it’s because he helped design the National Stadium in Beijing, known as the “Bird’s Nest” (鸟巢). The stadium was the centerpiece of the 2008 Olympics.
For all that Ai is recognizable after the Olympics, his artwork is far from mainstream. He’s controversial, a status which he clearly enjoys. But he’s also aware that there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed in Communist China, telling the BBC in 2005:
You really have to be very alert about where is the fine line, the border.
Apparently, he found that line.
A few months after Ai’s studio was demolished by the Chinese government, Ai was detained at the airport in April 2011 on undisclosed charges. Rumors swirled that the charges were related to finances and that proved to be true when months later, Ai allegedly confessed to tax evasion. Prior to the announcement, Ai had been held in secret for 81 days.
Now, Ai is speaking out. He has decided to fight the charges against him. It won’t be an easy task. To do so, Ai will have to put up $1.3 million as collateral. That’s the first step before he’s allowed to appeal.
To raise the money, Ai’s mother is selling her home. Supporters have also been donating money for Ai. A recent campaign on Google+ resulted in big dollars, all of which Ai promised to return. The government has alluded to his conduct as “illegal fundraising” – perhaps a dire warning that even if he makes the tight deadline, he will be charged again. For now, Ai has 15 days from the receipt of the bill to come up with the money. If he doesn’t come up with the money, he will likely find himself in jail again.
Ai now says that he did nothing wrong. His supporters believe that he is being targeted for speaking out against the Chinese government. It wouldn’t be the first time that the government has come down hard on Ai for being outspoken. After he supported an investigation into student deaths following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, Ai was allegedly beaten by the police so badly that he suffered a hemorrhage.
Despite how he’s been treated, Ai refuses to leave China. His home, he constantly reminds his supporters, is in China. This doesn’t mean, however, that he has stopped talking about his ordeal. Even though he’s being monitored, Ai is on twitter: @aiww (yes, he tweets in Chinese). He says about the site, “Without Twitter, it’s just like I’m not a person. I’ve already sent out more than 60,000 tweets.” Those tweets are being compiled into a book.
It’s no wonder, with all of the media attention, that the Chinese government is concerned about the flow of information in and out of the country. As a result, the BBC reported that high ranking government officials recently contacted senior executives from internet, telecommunications and technology companies to discuss their options.
Meanwhile, the whole world is watching.
