A celebrated Chinese dissident called out President Biden for his “soft” response to the anti-government protests currently roiling the communist nation.
“I feel that at Biden is still very soft on China and that he hasn’t been strong enough in dealing with the CCP,” lawyer and human rights activist Chen Guangcheng, who is blind, told The Post. “Much more needs to be done.”
The comments come as China has spent weeks convulsed in riots in response to their increasingly draconian COVID lockdowns.
“I believe that the West needs to make a much stronger statement of support for the Chinese people. This will diminish the possibility of a violent crackdown, as the [Chinese Communist Party] is very concerned about outside reactions. Many politicians in the US have made statements but we have yet to hear from the US president.”
President Biden’s son Hunter has spent years doing business in China, frequently working alongside partners with deep ties to the country’s ruling communist party. Republicans probing the first son have long speculated the president could be compromised by his son’s shady business dealings.
Chen’s criticism echoes that of Republicans such as Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who has urged Biden to condemn the CCP.
“Everyone knows that these organic protests of the Chinese people are not just about COVID policies, but about their yearning for freedom, and they are dying to hear from America — from the leader of the free world — that we support their deepest aspirations,” Cotton said.
But the White House has so far issued a tepid statement backing China’s protesters.
“[W]e’ve long said everyone has the right to peacefully protest, here in the United States and around the world. This includes in [China],” it read.
Chen spent years as a thorn in the side of China’s leaders for his outspoken advocacy on behalf of women forced to have abortions during decades of the country’s one-child policy.
In 2012 he fled house arrest in central China’s Shandong Province and managed to secure sanctuary at the US Embassy in Beijing. He currently lives outside of Washington D.C.
Chen later received asylum in the United States and secured a visiting scholar position at New York University. The school later booted him, which Chen and others said came after Chinese pressure around NYU’s massive campus in Shanghai. The school denied the accusation. Chen currently serves as a Distinguished Fellow at Catholic University in Washington D.C.
While living in America, Chen’s politics shifted right. He is a past and current supporter of former President Trump and spoke on his behalf at the 2020 Republican convention.
Chen said he has not received a coronavirus vaccine, and opposed many of the mandates he saw in the United States too.
“I strongly disagree with the forced coronavirus vaccination and things like the vaccine cards and vaccine passports that have been used to restrict access or movement, or have forced people to leave their jobs. These measures are just like what you find under authoritarian regimes,” he said, adding that he is keenly interested in a looming House investigation into the origins of the bug.
Chen became a naturalized U.S. citizen in July 2021, Voice of America reported.
