STOCKHOLM, Sweden—Peter Bergquist is a Swedish human rights lawyer known as a pioneer who advocated for human rights crimes to be tried in courts outside of the country where the crimes were committed.
In 1998 he attempted to extradite Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to Sweden for trial and in 2005 he initiated a lawsuit against the former Chinese dictator Jiang Zemin.
Mr Bergquist has been practicing law for 20 years and has worked on many human rights issues. He came to the Chinese Spectacular on Easter Monday and said the show was very interesting and exciting.
"This kind of culture is not at all common in Sweden, so it is very interesting to watch it in this way.
"Then, of course it is regretful that this kind of performance is entirely unavailable in China – because of disrespect for traditional classical Chinese culture. It is regrettable, but as far as I am concerned, this is a completely fantastic performance," he said.
He said he enjoyed all the performances: "I cannot say that one appealed to me more the other. For me, it is the general impression."
He said that it was "frightening" that the Chinese embassy tried to stop the show in Sweden.
"The Chinese regime is paranoid and maybe has the reason to be that. [laughs] The Chinese regime strives to control all areas of life. It is a dictatorship with a totalitarian ambition."
He said this was no the first time that the Chinese regime tried in different ways to control freedom of expression in Sweden, "and I think it is scary that they take this kind of liberty".
"And I think this is the difference between the Chinese dictatorship and other dictatorships. It is taking a great deal of liberties. It will not hesitate to exert pressure on other countries regarding their internal affairs, while consistently claiming that human rights in China is a matter of internal affairs. The Chinese regime is bolder that other dictatorships."
He said if the show returns next year then he will come. "And by that time I hope that there will be a democratic government in China and its representatives will also come to the performance."
For information about upcoming Divine Performing Arts shows, please visit: www.DivinePerformingArts.org.
The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of the Chinese Spectacular. For our complete coverage please visit: http://en.epochtimes.com/features/dpa2008/
Feeds