Taiwan too soft on China says dissident

Wei Jingsheng (L) has spent 17 years in prison in China

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A top Chinese political dissident has criticized Taiwan for being too eager to improve relations with China.

Wei Jingsheng has also criticized Taipei for failing to push harder for human rights and democracy on the mainland. Wei spent 17 years in a Chinese prison and was freed on medical parole three years ago.

"Taiwanese should care more about the mainland's human rights because democracy can best help safeguard the island's security," said Wei, who lives in exile in the United States. He arrived Taiwan Sunday for a week-long visit arranged by a local think tank.

Wei said Taiwanese should not ignore China's rampant human rights violations when they do business with or discuss bilateral relations with the mainland.

"If you appear too soft, they will consider you too easy to handle," Wei said.

He also criticized executives of multinational firms who say that China's economic development will naturally create a larger middle class that will demand political change.

"The theory is unfounded," he said. "It was but formulated to facilitate their business dealings."

Instead, Wei said, Chinese leaders will keep their grip on power so they can reap more benefits from economic development. "There is no longer any idealism. It is but a large business group," he said of the Chinese Communist Party.

Wei argued that China's market economy will enlarge the gap between the rich and the poor and thus fan more social unrest and greater demand for democracy.

If Chinese leaders fail to check the country's growing unemployment, small-scale protests might grow into massive movements and topple the regime, he said.

During his visit, Wei will hold several meetings with Shih Ming-teh, a former Taiwanese dissident who spent 25 years in jail but was elected a lawmaker after the island ended martial law rule in 1987.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Human Rights Watch
Human Rights in China
Taiwan Government

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