Chinese Government State Ai Weiwei Held For Tax Evasion

The Chinese government has alleged that “Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd”, the company founded by the detained artist, Ai Weiwei, has evaded a large amount of tax. This is the reasoning or excuse behind the detention of the artist, a state  media report has revealed. The agency has also charged the company with intentionally destroying accounting documents. This is a crime under most international laws and Weiwei remains in custody until evidence is gathered in order to build a case against the company.

Mr Ai is a vocal government critic  and these trumped up charges are just a hollow excuse to stifle his high profile outbursts. Mr Ai was detained at Beijing airport on 3 April. He only was allowed his first contact with his family on Sunday. The artist met his wife, Lu Qing, at an unknown location and assured her he was healthy, his sister told the BBC as reported last week. The charge usually results in a house arrest but the location of the artist is still a guarded secret and he remains in police custody. Under Chinese law, being held “under residential surveillance”, usually means detainees are confined to their homes not jail. This is not the case in this international news breaking story.Mr Ai’s sister, Gao Ge, said his family had not been officially notified of the accusations. But she said they were another unfounded effort by the police to justify his detention.”He’s not the company’s legally-designated representative, nor is he the chief executive. So even if the company is accused of these crimes, Ai Weiwei should not be detained,There’s been no notification to us or to Lu Qing,” she added. “Again, the authorities are saying one thing to Xinhua to tell the outside world, but they haven’t observed any legal procedures to tell us.” China’s foreign ministry has said that Mr Ai was under investigation for “economic crimes”. It also insisted that his case had “nothing to do with human rights or freedom of expression”.

An exhibition of Ai Weiwei ‘s work can be seen at the Lisson Gallery until 16 July also a large scaled installation is on view at Somerset house London. A gathering of artists, arts workers, enthusiasts and others to participate as a group in Monica Ross’s ‘Anniversary – Acts of Memory” at Brighton Festival on Sunday 29 May at 2pm.

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