Something is stirring in China
Nine years after it crushed the democracy movement in Tienanmen Square, China's leadership seems to be loosening its stranglehold on political dissent ever so slightly. It is too early to say whether this new openness will last, or grow, but something is stirring in China that deserves encouragement and close monitoring by the United States.
On Sunday (April 19), Wang Dan, the most prominent leader of the Tienanmen movement still in prison, was released for medical treatment in the United States. That comes after the release on medical grounds last November of China's senior democracy campaigner, Wei Jingsheng, and signals a somewhat more humane attitude towards those who have challenged Communist Party rule. Regrettably, Mr. Wang and Mr. Wei had to accept exile from China as a condition for their release.
Perhaps more significant is the increased latitude tentatively extended to people campaigning for limited democratic reforms in China. Since January, a number of newspapers and journals have printed lively exchanges on subjects like expanding individual rights, extending village elections and retracting the reach of the government and the Communist Party.
Since a party congress last year confirmed President Jiang Zemin's position as China's most powerful leader, he has seemed more willing to depart from earlier orthodoxies. Li Peng, who ordered the Tienanmen Square massacre, remains the No.2 leader, but his new position as speaker of Congress gives him a less direct role in enforcing conformity. The most dramatic change has been the appointment of Zhu Rongji, a strong economic reformer, as prime minister. His program does not include political liberalization but does call for the party and government to step back from direct control of economic life.
The new openness remains limited and could easily be reversed. Beijing still harshly punishes any advocacy of independent labor unions at a time when labor unrest over economic issues and working conditions is increasing. Washington should continue to press for the release of political prisoners not yet benefiting from the new climate.
Twice in recent decades, in 1978 and 1989, China seemed to edge warily toward greater democracy only to be thrown back by a new wave of repression. This time, continued modernization of China's economy may prove a powerful incentive for political reform. That is certainly something the world would welcome, and a development that Bill Clinton should encourage as he prepares to visit China in June.
-- The New York Times