The ruling party's ally party the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) has accused China of using next year's Olympics as a cover for human rights abuses. The TSU legislative caucus on Friday called for a boycott of Olympic merchandise. It also said Taiwan should have no part in the Olympic torch relay.

According to TSU caucus whip Tseng Tsahn-deng, China had previously said holding the games would help improve the country's human rights record. But Tseng said that human rights abuses - including the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners - were actually on the rise.

Tseng said, "China got the Olympic Games by deception. They were not sincere about improving human rights, in fact the abuses have got worse. We have only the strongest condemnation for this kind of country. We also hope the rest of the world will look closely at the human rights abuses being perpetrated by China."