Taipei, March 10 (CNA) Human rights is an universal value and any regime which suppresses freedom of speech, religion or thought should be reprimanded, a candidate in the Kuomintang's (KMT's) primary for the year-end Taipei mayoral election said Friday.
While sitting with a group of human rights activists who launched a two-week hunger strike to protest the deteriorating human rights situation in China, Hau Lung-pin said that "for China to have a 'peaceful rising', it has to respect human rights first."
"I'm here to show my support for the universal value," the former Cabinet-level Environmental Protection Administration chief added.
"Over eight million people have renounced the Chinese Communist Party of China (CCP) , which means even CCP members don't agree with what the party is doing. The CCP should give this deep thought, " Hau continued.
"I take my hat off to these people who are here today and are using a peaceful way to voice their protest instead of resorting to violence and bloodshed," the son of former Premier Hau Pei-tsun said.
Human rights advocates in North America, the Asia Pacific region and Europe have joined in a global relay hunger strike against China's suppression, which in Taiwan is taking place in front of Exhibition Hall 2 of the Taipei World Trade Center from March 6-19.