A braver man than I

You have to admire the man in this story-

CHINA sentenced a veteran dissident writer to 12 years in jail for subversion yesterday, after he posted essays on the internet supporting a movement by exiles to hold free elections.

The sentence on Yang Tianshui, 45, is one of the harshest to be handed down to a political dissident since the trials that came after the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown on students demanding greater democracy. It underscores the determination of the ruling Communist Party to brook no opposition and to maintain a tight grip on the internet.

Yang is one of several writers and dissidents to be tried over the content of internet postings. He has no plans to appeal because he regards his trial as illegal. Li Jianqiang, his lawyer, said: “He is most dissatisfied but he had expected such a sentence. He refused to answer questions because he does not recognise the legality of the court.”

Yang was detained after he posted essays on the internet in support of Velvet Action of China — a movement named after the Velvet Revolution that overthrew the Communist Government in the former Czechoslovakia. “He was freely expressing his opinion and posed no threat to state security. We argue that his actions were entirely within the Constitution,” Mr Li said.

The court, in the eastern province of Jiangsu, also found Yang guilty of plotting to form provincial chapters of the outlawed China Democracy Party and of receiving financial assistance from overseas. He is a member of the China chapter of International PEN, the movement founded to defend freedom of expression.

As I said I doubt I'd have the guts to stand up like that.

China has been practicing capitalism for some years. They are a communist state in name only. Socialist yes, totalitarian yes, Communist no. By allowing economic freedom, the country's have unwillingly unleashed other freedoms. The average Chinese citizen is much better informed of the outside world today than tweny years ago. Could we see a Berlin Wall like fall in Beijing? I'm not so sure. Change is coming to China but predicting how it will all play out is impossible.

Hat tip- Captain's Quarters
Open Post- Freedom Watch, Right Wing Nation, TMH's Bacon Bits,