海角大神

听Thousands of individual donors swamped dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei鈥檚 Internet account Friday, offering to help him pay a $2.4 million tax bill he was handed earlier this week, in a striking show of defiance against the government.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 amazing,鈥� Mr. Ai said in an interview. 鈥淭his has become a big movement.鈥�
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More than 1,600 supporters had pledged or paid more than 400,000 RMB ($63,500) by mid-afternoon on Friday, just a few hours after the wave of donations began to surge, the artist said.

Ai, an outspoken critic of the government who was detained last April and held in solitary confinement for 81 days, said on Tuesday that the authorities had presented him with a $2.4 million tax bill, charging him with tax evasion in the past.
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Ai says the allegations are cover for political persecution, and argues that he is not the legal owner of Beijing Fake Cultural Development, which makes most of his work. His wife, Lu Qing, is the owner.
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The online public subscription drive began earlier this week, when several prominent supporters of Ai鈥檚 proposed the idea. It appears to have really taken off since Hu Jia, a well known human rights activist who was released in June after a 40-month sentence for 鈥渋nciting subversion of state power,鈥� announced on his Twitter account on Thursday that he had donated 1,000 RMB ($158) to Ai.
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鈥淗e wanted to express his gratitude and respect for what Ai has done,鈥� explained Mr. Hu鈥檚 wife, Zeng Jinyan, in an interview.
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Ai said he had not solicited donations from the public, but that 鈥渨hen they started coming in, we had to either tell people to stop or that we would be happy to borrow the money.鈥� He decided on the latter course of action, he said 鈥渆ven though lots of people have said they do not want to be repaid.鈥澨�听

Ai is one of China's听best known contemporary artists internationally,听whose work (including the design of the Bird's Nest听Olympic stadium) has earned him a great deal of money. Contributors to his tax bill are clearly听not offering help because they think he needs the cash, but for more symbolic reasons.
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鈥淪o many people had so much anger when I was disappeared,鈥� Ai said. 鈥淭hey want to show the government their anger and what a mistake it made. They want to speak out and pay the government back.鈥�
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鈥淲e are doing performance art with him to mock the autocratic state machine,鈥� said one lender in a message signed @ihnsfa on Ai鈥檚 microblog. 鈥淚 hope our slight power can help you win a splendid victory,鈥� read another message, accompanying a donation of 1,000 RMB.
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Ai鈥檚 microblog account with Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like Chinese site, gave details to donors or lenders instructing them how send money either electronically through a local Paypal clone, or more traditionally by bank or post office transfer.
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Ai said he was unsure whether the contributions he is receiving from supporters would ever amount to the sum the government is demanding, but added that the surge in donations on Friday had been 鈥渃razy. It鈥檚 getting bigger and bigger. My telephone is lighting up like a Christmas tree.
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鈥淐hina is really hopeful,鈥� he said, his voice quavering with emotion. 鈥淟ots of people have made their own decisions鈥� about the justice of his treatment 鈥渁nd have their own moral judgment that is so strong and so generous.鈥�
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鈥淧eople are using this way to protest against the authorities鈥� crackdown鈥� on Ai, said Ms. Zeng. 鈥淭here is no legal way for the government to stop it.鈥澨�