BEIJING (AP).- Outspoken Chinese artist Ai Weiwei’s design firm will use a closed hearing Thursday to challenge a $1.85 million tax bill delivered by authorities after the dissident was released from nearly three months’ detention. The prominent government critic was the most high-profile target of a sweeping crackdown on activists this year and his detention sparked international outcry, with some countries saying it was a sign that the human rights situation in China was deteriorating. Tax officials visited Ai’s studio late last month to say his design company Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd. owed $770,000 in back taxes from the last decade and $1.1 million in fines. Company lawyer