Lindsay Beck and John Ruwitch: EU urges China act on rights before ending arms ban

From Reuters.com:

The European Union urged China on Wednesday to free Tiananmen dissidents and ratify a U.N. pact on civil and political rights so as to create a climate to allow it to end an arms embargo. China said the linkage was unreasonable.

On a two-day trip to mark 30 years of China-EU relations, External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said Beijing’s human rights record and a tough new law authorizing “non-peaceful means” against Taiwan were not helping its cause.