Beijing seeks nearly $2 million from Ai Weiwei

BEIJING A close friend of Chinese artist Ai Weiwei says Beijing's tax authorities are seeking nearly $2 million in back taxes and fines from the government critic who was recently released from detention.Liu Xiaoyuan said Tuesday the city's tax bureau had issued a notice to Ai that he owed around $770,000 in unpaid taxes and would be fined about $1.1 million.

Liu says he has seen the notice delivered Monday and that Ai has three days to respond to it in writing if he objects. Ai declined to comment, citing a bail condition that he not accept media interviews.Ai was freed last week after nearly three months in detention. He was the most high-profile target of a sweeping crackdown on activists this year.