Beijing (CNN) -- Outspoken Chinese artist Ai Weiwei paid 8.45 million yuan ($1.3 million) for a charge against his wife's company to prevent her from going to jail, he told CNN Tuesday. Ai told CNN that if the tax charge went unpaid then his wife, the legal representative of Fake Cultural Ltd., would have been sent to jail. When news of the tax charges broke earlier this month, there was a huge outpouring of donations from fellow activists and supporters wanting to ease the 15 million yuan ($2.3 million) debt. Ai told CNN that the donations grew to more than 9 million yuan, but he only used a portion of it for this payment, which he hopes will give him the right to an administrative review.
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Ai Weiwei uses donation money to pay off tax bond
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Hopes tax bond will allow for administrative review
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Administrative review does not guarantee positive outcome for Ai
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Support from public encourages his fight
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