Tiananmen dissident Wuer Kaixi condemns Trump as an enemy of American values

A former leader of the Tiananmen Square protests in China has lashed out at US presidential hopeful Donald Trump, whom he dubbed a “privileged comeback king”, and warned America is at risk of abandoning its cherished freedoms.

Wuer Kaixi said he was speaking on behalf of Chinese democracy dissidents everywhere in condemning the provocative property magnate, who was criticised last week after describing the 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing and subsequent crackdown as a “riot”.

“Speaking personally, after 27 years in exile from that ‘riot’... I think I can speak for all fellow exiled and imprisoned Chinese in condemning Trump,” Wuer wrote in a commentary posted on his official Facebook page.

“I am not alone in appealing to the very same Americans who offered Chinese such as myself refuge when our own government deserted us to put aside partisan disputes and unite against Trump,” the activist said.

In a televised exchange, Republican front runner Trump was quizzed about his 1990 comments on the student-led protests and government crackdown that costs hundreds, possibly thousands, of lives, in which he referred to “the power of strength”.

Speaking on CNN, Trump insisted he was not endorsing the Chinese Communist Party’s brutal response, which saw the military brought in to crush the protests.