Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has said he will challenge a huge tax bill the government has ordered him to pay.
Ai, who disappeared into police custody for 81 days earlier this year and was ordered to pay 15 million yuan (€1.8m) in back-taxes after his release, needs to pay the bill by Tuesday.
The 54-year-old said previously that the tax was being charged to him as "the actual controller" of the Beijing FAKE Cultural Development Ltd, a company where he works but which is owned by his wife.
He has denied any wrongdoing and insists the government is trying to silence him and his vocal human rights activism.
The artist has said he will contest the order and will use funds donated by supporters as a guarantee to make an appeal.
''We never said we will pay the tax bill," Ai told AFP.
Pu Zhiqiang, a lawyer acting for Ai, said that a guarantee of eight million yuan needed to be paid in order "to pursue the request of administrative revision".
Ai's activism has incensed the government in the past.
He has organised independent investigations into the collapse of schools in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake and into a 2010 fire at a Shanghai high-rise that killed dozens.
The drive to donate to Ai has gathered momentum since beginning last week.
Supporters have been coming from as far afield as Hainan island in the south, 3,000km away, to give money.
Supporters have been sending him money through internet and bank transfers, while some have even resorted to throwing cash over the walls into his courtyard home.
Total donations had reached 6.7 million yuan, Liu Yanping, who works with Ai, said on her Twitter account yesterday.
Ai, whose artworks have sold worldwide has acknowledged previously that he does not need the financial support.
"What I need is the ethical support of everybody. I don't need the money," he said.
He has vowed to pay back the money to his donors, some of whom are prominent activists.
