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ACTIVIST ARTIST Ai Weiwei believes a tax evasion case was meant to intimidate him, but losing his challenge to the 15 million yuan fine Friday did not silence his criticism of China’s government.
“Today’s verdict means that after 60 years of the founding of our nation, we still lack the basic legal procedures, the truth is not respected, and they do not give taxpayers or citizens any rights to defend oneself,” Ai told reporters at his design studio, where he stayed because police told him he was not allowed to attend the hearing. “The whole legal system is in a dark state right now.”
Ai and his supporters interpret the penalty Beijing tax authorities levied on his design company last year as official retaliation against his activism. He paid the guarantee in part with donations via wire transfers or from supporters who stuffed cash into envelopes or wrapped bills around fruit and threw the items into his yard.
Activism
An internationally known sculptor, photographer and installation artist, he has used his art and online profile to draw attention to injustices in Chinese society and the need for greater transparency and rule of law.
He was detained without explanation for three months last year during an overall crackdown on dissent. Following his release, Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd, was ordered to pay 15 million yuan (€1.9 million) in back taxes and fines. The company filed a lawsuit accusing the tax bureau of violating laws in handling witnesses, gathering evidence and company accounts.
On Friday, the Chaoyang District People’s Court announced its verdict amid a heavy security presence, as plainclothes and uniformed police blocked roads and forced reporters and diplomats to leave the area.
Court ruling
The court rejected the lawsuit on the grounds that the reasons given by the design firm in seeking to have the tax penalty revoked did not hold water, according to a copy of the verdict seen by The Associated Press.
The court said, for example, that the company was wrong in arguing that financial accounts seized from Ai’s studio by police should not be used as evidence in the tax authority’s investigation against the firm. It said tax investigators are allowed to use information sent to it by other departments or organisations.
Attorney Pu Zhiqiang, who attended the hearing with Ai’s wife, Lu Qing, who is the company’s legal representative, said the ruling was made “totally without reason.” Pu said the company would appeal the ruling.
“We have lost this lawsuit but we believe that our action in reality can serve as a symbol of the awakening of civil consciousness,” Pu said. “We do not recognise the legality of the ruling.”
Ruling ‘no surprise’
About a dozen supporters waited at a nearby intersection for the verdict. Tax lawyer Du Yanlin, who advises Ai, wore a grey T-shirt with the artist’s name printed on it in bold characters and was prevented by police from getting close to the courthouse.
Du said the court’s ruling was no surprise.
“Through this lawsuit we can clearly recognise what condition the Chinese judicial system is in. We can more clearly understand what Ai Weiwei’s situation is,” Du said. “He still has no freedom. He still can’t have justice.”
Before his own detention last April, Ai publicised fellow activists’ disappearances via Twitter and he has spoken out about a number of national scandals, including the deaths of students in shoddily built schools that collapsed during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, children killed or sickened by tainted infant formula and a deadly high-rise fire in Shanghai that killed 58 people and was blamed on negligent workers and corrupt inspectors.
Constant surveillance
Since being released, Ai has been refused permission to travel and is under constant surveillance. He still frequently criticizes the government on Twitter, which is blocked in China but accessible to tech-savvy citizens.
China says he remains under investigation on suspicion of illegal exchange of foreign currency and pornography. The latter allegation is believed to be linked to satirical online photos of him posing naked with four women who are topless.
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Well where can we see them?z.?
Another f*ckin Father Ted headline/ruling!
We’re actually becoming more backward and more conservative as a country I swear to God!
#embarrassing
The model licked her finger? Well colour me shocked……..
It’s generally the “bigger boned” lady that complains about these things! Green eyed monsters!!
That’s not fair or accurate. The aesthetically challenged usually complain also.
Jebus wait till they see the Hunky Dory add with the man in the bath,Who seems to ejaculate a blow up toy, parodying the 90s flake add funny as…..sorry,I mean perverts objectifying men like, disgusting!
That advert is lovely .. very tasteful, very elegant, beautiful music & beautiful women … The jewellery on the other hand is horrible wouldn’t spend my money on it … Each to their taste i guess … But get over the advert prudes nothing wrong with it in my view !!
Its fine apart from the gratuitous boob shot and the fact that ladies look slightly off their face on something. But yeah, awful jewellery.
If this is the offending advertisement, it looks pretty tasteful to me:
http://www.newbridgesilverware.com/eshe/
What sort of prudes are we at all?
Where can I see them?! Anyone?!
There’s a thing called Google…
I found em in 3.6 seconds and I’d be slow…..I guess we can’t post the link here so find it yesrelf and stop expecting to be hand-fed.
Here ya go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_SGfpQ5TLM#t=89
I don’t get how the complaint says that its focused on sexualising the woman…you can clear see from the camera work and the direction that the focus was on the jewellery. No doubt that the ad features a very attractive model.
So pontius I take it you have searched for the video and found it within seconds or u just making assumptions?
Don’t Look at it if you don’t like it… simple. .. This isn’t Saudi Arabia
Religious police comes to mind.
Would they prefer the over fed tash wearing ladies showing off the new range of newbridge silver ‘Mum’ rings ?? #MoaningVagMonsters
I find the jewelry pretty awful personally. Draping it in a fine looking woman doesn’t make me think my woman will look like that whilst wearing it. I ain’t stupid – most men aren’t! I reckon this is aimed at women not men.
As for the ad itself – pretty harmless stuff.
I’ve signed up to “He for She” and I’m taking a stand now.
This jewellery ad objectifying women is offensive and I object.
I urge you too to man-up and demonstrate some sense moral outrage.
Evil prevails when good people remain silent.
Hear hear for Emma and her speech at the UN.
Sure. I appreciate your only objection is it’s boring. The advertiser is insulting men by suggesting we will be suckered in with such advertising… and by others making clever remarks they are inadvertently colluding with the advertisers method.
You mean “man-up”. Not sure if I’ve used that then in the right context.
I mean it as a “stand up for what you believe” and not make a sneer for the common cheer.
This advertisement is for jewellery. It’s not aimed at men. It’s aimed at women.
And I don’t believe in infantilising women and placing women’s rights above everyone else’s. maybe if it was an issue that affected women exclusively, I would, but it doesn’t.
HeforShe and campaigns like it are exactly why so many are falling out with modern feminism, why not OneforAll or something like that, why the focus on men “standing up”, and changing their behaviour to suit women, why not stress the importance of not abusing your partner to girls and what about the estimated 40-50% men who are also suffering from domestic violence. Do they have change as well, should they say sorry, and should we ignore them.
Anybody who is against or at least sceptical of modern feminism is so not out of hating women but out of hating sheer intellectual dishonesty and the blatant misconstruing of facts.
But anyway I better before I burst an ulcer.
Peace out people xx
Dead right Doey.
The most annoying folks I come across though are not the feminists. They’re the defenders of feminism who don’t know the first thing about it. They automatically identify when feminism because they see it as the liberal left-wing thing to do, but the have no idea what they are supporting. They’re easy to spot, all you have to do is start talking about things today’s mainstream feminists believe, like patriarchy and rape culture. The response you get is an accusation that you’re conflating extremists with all feminsts. It’s just a default response from those who aren’t big on thinking.
Anyone reading this who fits that description should spend a few minutes researching it. Here are 3 batshit crazy elements of modern mainstream feminism to get you started:
Patriarchy Theory
Rape Culture
Critical Theory
I think it’s quite obvious that the only thing advertisers are selling anymore is sex.
What a load of me arse. The jewellery is gaudy, and the video is so pretentious, I nearly vomited.
Can’t locate the video, but the photographs looks completely tarty. Clearly Newbridge are moving away from they’re more elegant and classy ads for sluty and distasteful. Well done
You’d think it was Saudi Arabia by the music in the ad!
The girl is better looking than the jewelery but her acting is terrible! She looks a bit sedated/ bored….and the lips…was she at the dentist before the shoot? I thought she was going to drool her drink….
have your say