A former high-ranking Chinese technology specialist has defected and is seeking political asylum in the United States in order to promote democratic change in his country, a US newspaper reported Wednesday. Jia Jia, until recently the head of the state-backed China Shanxi Science and Technology Experts Association in Shanxi, north-central China, is staying temporarily in Hong Kong, The Washington Times said.
He told the newspaper in a telephone interview from Hong Kong that he opposed Chinese Communist Party rule and defected October 23 during a visit to Taiwan.
He was refused political asylum in Taiwan because, he said, Taiwan officials feared allowing him to stay would upset China.
The US Consulate in Hong Kong also has rejected Jia's appeal for political asylum, telling him that he did not meet the qualifications, the report said.
But he has been granted permission to stay seven days in Hong Kong under rules governing tourist visits, while he seeks permission to move to another country. Because Hong Kong is part of China, he could be arrested after that period.
Jia said that if he was forcibly repatriated, he faces torture and possible death because he has spoken out against the ruling Communist Party and in support of democracy, The Washington Times reported.
"I hope President Bush will help me go (to the United States) and that US citizens will help me to realize a democratic China," Jia said.
Jia's New Zealand based son, Jia Kuo, appealed in a letter to "the governments in the world to rescue my father, for the sake of humanity, freedom and democracy.
"Those who love freedom and democracy please support my father immediately," he said, according to a copy of the letter obtained here.
Source: Agence France-Presse
