{"id":138432,"date":"2012-06-19T22:14:33","date_gmt":"2012-06-20T05:14:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/?p=138432"},"modified":"2012-06-19T22:14:33","modified_gmt":"2012-06-20T05:14:33","slug":"ai-weiwei-prevented-attending-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinadigitaltimes.net\/2012\/06\/ai-weiwei-prevented-attending-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"Ai Weiwei Prevented from Attending Hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

The court hearing of artist and activist Ai Weiwei’s case against tax authorities is scheduled for Wednesday in Beijing. In an unexpected move, a Beijing court earlier accepted Ai’s case against tax authorities <\/a>who filed tax evasion charges against Ai’s art studio. But hours before it was due to open, police warned Ai Weiwei not to attend the hearing, while his legal advisor Liu Xiaoyuan was reportedly missing after being called in for questioning by police. Reuters reports<\/strong><\/a>:<\/p>\n

\nHis supporters say the tax case, due to be heard later on Wednesday, is part of the government’s drive to muzzle the outspoken social critic.<\/p>\n

Despite the courts’ acceptance of his lawsuit, Ai told Reuters that police called him repeatedly on Tuesday afternoon, warning him not to turn up at the courthouse.<\/p>\n

“‘You can never make it. Don’t even try,'” Ai, 55, said police told him. He said police gave no reason.<\/p>\n

“This nation can have anything, they can have a satellite that goes to the sky and the moon, but they can never give you a clear reason why,” he said. “This is ridiculous, right? There’s no conversation, no discussion. Maybe they don’t even know the reason. It’s a really mysterious nation.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

An avid Twitter user<\/a>, Ai has been tweeting updates to his followers, including a call for the release of Liu Xiaoyuan, who is assumed to be under police detention:<\/p>\n

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\u6211\u53ef\u4ee5\u4e0d\u53bb\u6cd5\u9662\uff0c\u8bf7\u653e\u56de\u5218\u6653\u539f\u3002<\/p>\n

— \u827e\u672a\u672aAi Weiwei (@aiww) June 20, 2012<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n