By Kasie Hunt

Ahead of his anticipated run for president, outgoing U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman is leaving his post in China with a sharp rebuke to Beijing on human rights.

“The United States will never stop supporting human rights because we believe in the fundamental struggle for human dignity and justice wherever it may occur,” Huntsman told a prestigious audience gathered for the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations’s Barnett-Oksenberg Lecture in Shanghai on Wednesday, according to a transcript of his remarks.

“[American ambassadors] will continue to speak up in defense of social activists,” he said, referring to the case of artist Ai Weiwei, who was detained on Sunday. He also mentioned Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, who has been imprisoned for subversion, and American geologist Feng Xue, who allegedly stole Chinese state secrets.

While foreign diplomats normally refrain from openly criticizing the Chinese government, the State Department on Tuesday called for the artist’s release, and European countries have also condemned the arrest. Ai’s arrest is likely in connection with recent attempts to encourage popular demonstrations like the ones that have swept the Middle East in recent months.

One of those protests — outside a Beijing McDonald’s — made international news when Huntsman walked by and was captured on video. His appearance there led the Chinese government to censor his Chinese name on micro-blogging services and websites.

“Cutting off dialogue and suppressing the news media does not help us understand each other,” Huntsman said in his Wednesday address.

The speech is Huntsman’s last as ambassador — and when he officially leaves his post on April 30, he is expected to return home and run for the Republican presidential nomination. He hasn’t been able to officially campaign, but a cadre of supporters have been building a campaign apparatus that he’ll be able to use to launch a bid.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0411/52681.html