Chinese Artist Repaying His Loans

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/world/asia/chinese-artist-repaying-his-loans.html

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Ai Weiwei, the artist and critic of the Communist Party, said Friday that he had repaid loans totaling $1,400 that he had received online to help him pay back taxes and penalties that Chinese officials had levied against him. Mr. Ai said he began repaying the small loans, each less than $2, on Oct. 29. Several months ago, he began repaying larger loans, and as of Oct. 29 he had repaid more than $400,000, he said. Last year, after security officials detained Mr. Ai for 81 days, the tax authorities said he owed $2.4 million in back taxes and penalties. He raised $1.4 million in the fall of 2011 to pay a bond to the government that would allow him to contest the tax charge. A Beijing court rejected his lawsuit against the tax authorities this year, and in July another court rejected an appeal. Mr. Ai said that he expected the government to keep the bond money, but that he would repay the donors. He said Friday that he still needed to repay more than $1 million. Security officials have kept Mr. Ai’s passport, barring him from leaving the country.