China Court to Hear Dissident Artist Ai Weiwei’s Tax Lawsuit

A Beijing court has accepted Ai Weiwei’s lawsuit challenging the 15 million yuan ($2.4 million) tax evasion penalty the government levied against the company that markets his work, the artist said in an interview.

The Chaoyang District Court agreed to accept the case on May 7, Ai said by phone yesterday. He said he expects the court to take up the case “sooner rather than later,” though he did not know exactly when. Calls made to the court after office hours yesterday weren’t answered.