CHINA: BEIJING: FATHER OF DISSIDENT WANG DAN TALKS OF HUMAN RIGHTS скачать в хорошем качестве

CHINA: BEIJING: FATHER OF DISSIDENT WANG DAN TALKS OF HUMAN RIGHTS

(30 Jan 1997) Mandarin/Nat The U-S State Department in Washington is scheduled to release a report Thursday highly critical of China for its human rights record in 1996. The report decries China's arrest and imprisonment of virtually all active dissidents -- among them, Wang Dan, a pro-democracy activist and one of China's most famous dissidents. In an exclusive APTV interview on the eve of the report's release, Wang Dan's father says the Clinton administration's de-coupling of human rights from trade issues was a huge set-back for those rights in China. Wang Xianzeng knows more about human rights in China than most people. He is the father of 27-year-old Wang Dan, one of China's most famous dissidents. At the family home in Beijing, Wang Dan's bedroom is kept much as he left it -- a bit messy. His parents vow to keep it just this way, ready for the next night their son will sleep here -- a night which, barring an early release, won't come until the year 2007. Last October Wang Dan was sentenced to jail for the second time since he led the pro- democracy protests on Tiananmen Square in 1989 and under near constant police surveillance, his parents wait for him in Beijing. In an exclusive interview with APTV, his father said his son only fought for the interests of all Chinese people. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) "As we see it, what Wang Dan has said and done is not against any law at all. Let alone this talk of attempts to overthrow the government. This is quite clear to us, and my son is still appealing the case." SUPER CAPTION: Wang Xianzeng, Father of Wang Dan Despite its criticism of China on this issue, the U-S uncoupled trade and human rights in 1994, a move that has drawn severe criticism from human rights groups and activists. Perhaps no one opposes the changed American stance more than Wang Xianzeng. He claims that it was this move by the U-S that cleared the way for the Chinese government crackdown on dissidents in 1996. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) "In the first half of his first term, President Clinton did very well in dealing with China's human rights problems. However, from the second half, he weakened his position by unhooking trade and human rights issues. Therefore the worsening of the human rights situation in China is closely connected with Clinton's action of de-coupling trade and human rights." SUPER CAPTION: Wang Xianzeng, Father of Wang Dan Wang Dan first came to prominence as a political activist while he was a history student at Beijing University. At the university, he led small-group discussions called "democracy salons" in the school's dormitories and classrooms. When the student democracy movement erupted in April 1989, Wang emerged as leader of the protests. The Chinese government ended the Tiananmen Square demonstrations on June 4, 1989, with a massacre which killed hundreds. In the crackdown's aftermath, Wang Dan became public enemy number one, his picture was broadcast across China on state television in an effort to apprehend him. While most of the movement's other leaders escaped to the West, Wang was arrested less than a month after the crackdown. Wang was held without trial until January 1991, when he was sentenced to four years in prison. He was paroled in 1993, but arrested again in May 1995 and detained until October 1996, when he received his latest sentence of eleven years. An appeal was rejected one month later. His father has also kept Wang Dan's favorite books neatly in place -- his son's prison won't let most of them in. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin) Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...