A protest in New York yesterday over the imprisonment of leading dissident Wei Jingsheng was dismissed by the Chinese Government.
The Foreign Ministry scoffed at 'American friends' for pressing for the release of Wei, serving 14 years in a labour camp on charges of attempting to topple the Communist Party.
The rejection came as literary figures joined representatives of the world's largest human rights organisations in New York to mark the publication of The Courage to Stand Alone, a compilation of Wei's prison letters and pro-democracy articles.
Ministry spokesman Shen Guofang described the protest as meddlesome, insisting political factors played no role in the jailing of Wei.
He said: 'I don't think some of the US officials, including congressmen and even some American friends working for the press, have a firm understanding of China's legal system. They shouldn't meddle.' Celebrities who joined the protest included authors E. L. Doctorow and Arthur Miller plus representatives of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
Wei, a former electrician at Beijing Zoo, has served all but six months of the past 18 years in prison for a variety of offences, including describing the late Deng Xiaoping as a dictator.
