A LEADING Chinese human rights activist who was the subject of Kevin Rudd's honours thesis has criticised the Prime Minister for his decision to attend the opening of the Beijing Olympics, likening the event to the Berlin Games under Hitler in 1936.

The dissident, Wei Jingsheng, says that as a Mandarin-speaking political leader in the Western world, Mr Rudd has a special responsibility to pressure the Chinese authorities to introduce democratic reforms.

In an interview to be aired tonight on SBS TV's Dateline , Mr Wei says he is considering seeking a meeting with Mr Rudd to raise his concerns.

The authorities jailed Mr Wei in 1979 for criticising the communist leadership and advocating democratic reforms. He spent 18 years in jail before being released in 1997 and allowed to go to the United States. Mr Wei tells Dateline he had great expectations of Mr Rudd because of his concern about human rights in China.

"When we first met, he showed me his award-winning thesis. The thesis was about me," Mr Wei said. "I'm not disappointed in him yet, but he hasn't done anything over a long period."

He said Western leaders should not attend the opening ceremony. "In undemocratic countries … the Olympic Games or other sports are run as political events. The Beijing Olympics are like the Berlin Olympics in 1936 offering support to the Nazis and to dictatorship."