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发帖数: 23432 | 1 美联社：明天要开听证会啦 zz
原文标题：Ai Weiwei's firm granted hearing with tax agency
作者：GILLIAN WONG
大意：特立独行的艺术家艾未未同志所在的设计公司明天要面对税务局的一场一千多万
人民币的闭门听证会。艾未未同志很可能缺席，因为税务局只允许三人出席：法人代表
路青，律师和会计师。
原文地址：http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/world/2011/07/ai-weiweis-firm-granted-hearing-tax-agency
By: GILLIAN WONG | Associated Press | 07/13/11 4:43 AM
Outspoken Chinese artist Ai Weiwei's design firm will use a closed hearing
Thursday to challenge a $1.85 million tax bill delivered by authorities
after the dissident was released from nearly three months' detention.
The prominent government critic was the most high-profile target of a
sweeping crackdown on activists this year and his detention sparked
international outcry, with some countries saying it was a sign that the
human rights situation in China was deteriorating.
Tax officials visited Ai's studio late last month to say his design company
Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd. owed $770,000 in back taxes from the
last decade and $1.1 million in fines.
Company lawyer Pu Zhiqiang said Wednesday that the firm wanted the Beijing
Local Taxation Bureau to provide proof of the alleged tax evasion and to
return the company's financial records seized during Ai's detention.
"Whether there are unpaid taxes or not requires the support of evidence in
terms of facts regarding transactions and profits. We must first be clear
about this question. But we haven't seen the specific proof and don't know
where the financial records are now," Pu told The Associated Press.
Pu said the company was also requesting that the hearing be made open to the
public, saying the case did not involve commercial secrets. A letter from
Ai's supporters calling for an open hearing was also submitted to the bureau
Wednesday.
Ai's family previously denied he evaded any taxes and activists say the
accusations were a false premise for detaining Ai. His supporters say he is
being punished for his critical views of the Communist leadership and social
problems. Before his own detention, he tracked the detention of other
activists.
Ai was detained April 3 and released June 22. He has declined interviews
about his detention or the investigation since then, saying the terms of his
bail prohibit it.
In a brief phone call Wednesday, Ai said he would probably not be allowed to
attend Thursday's hearing because only three people from the firm were
allowed to be present — his wife, who is the legal representative of the
company, a lawyer and an accountant.
Chinese authorities have said that although Ai was released, he is
technically still under investigation for at least a year and could be
brought in for further questioning at any time.
Ai is internationally known and has earned huge sums selling his work at
auctions and through galleries. In February, a 220-pound (100-kilogram) pile
of handmade porcelain sunflower seeds he commissioned for a show in London
sold for more than $550,000 at auction.
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Follow Gillian Wong at http://twitter.com/gillianwong |
