Nearly 20,000 people have donated. They've used bank transfers, sent postal orders匯票 or simply handed over cash in person. Some have folded money into paper planes紙飛機 and flown them over the wall of the artist's Beijing compound軟禁的地方.
Ai Weiwei says the campaign to help him isn't just about the money. He says it's an expression of people's feelings about the way he's been treated.
The authorities accuse him of tax evasion逃稅 and want him to pay $2.4 million. But many believe this is just a cover to punish a fierce激烈 government critic.
Officials, they say, don't like his dogged頑強的 pursuit追求 of controversial爭議 issues.
Ai Weiwei says he hasn't decided whether to pay the tax bill. If he does, and uses this donated money, there could still be problems. One newspaper suggested it amounted to illegal fundraising集資.
More evidence, his supporters might say, that the authorities are simply trying to get at the artist any way they can.
Michael Bristow, BBC News
This text is from bbc learning english
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2011/11/111107_witn_ai_weiwei.shtml
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