With President Hu Jintao of China set to arrive in Washington this week for his first formal visit, much is being made about what a global economic powerhouse China has become in the 21st century. Whether that is hyperbole is debatable, but one thing is not. When it comes to the fundamental human principles of freedom, liberty and justice, China is in the Dark Ages. Anyone seeking proof of that need look no further than the case of Zhao Yan.
For 19 months now, China has held Mr. Zhao, a researcher for The New York Times, in prison. For most of that time, Chinese authorities didn't even bother to come up with charges; they simply held him in purgatory after yanking him from a restaurant in September 2004. Finally, last December, on the last working day on which prosecutors could decide whether to proceed, Mr. Zhao was formally charged with revealing state secrets to The Times.
The accusation of providing state secrets to foreigners is the vague catchall that party leaders invoke after reports surface of some business they want to keep quiet. In this case, a Times article forecast the retirement of China's leader, Jiang Zemin, from his last official post. Authorities also tacked on a bizarre fraud charge from 2001, unconnected to Mr. Zhao's work at The Times. Investigators claim he took money for offering to write a story for a Chinese newspaper, an allegation denied by Mr. Zhao's lawyer and disputed by a witness.
The twists and turns continued. One month ago, Chinese authorities, who have repeatedly refused to clarify the status of the case or even take phone calls from the defense team, unexpectedly dropped the state secrets case against Mr. Zhao, prompting speculation that Mr. Zhao might be released.
But no. Jim Yardley of The Times reports that the Chinese authorities have started another investigation period, which could lead to reinstating the charges against him by early May.
There isn't even a pretense here of justice and due process. Mr. Zhao, 44, is a seasoned journalist who was well known for covering rural issues before he joined the Times bureau in April 2004. He has denied that he gave the story of Mr. Jiang's departure to his colleagues, and Times editors have repeatedly assured the Chinese authorities that Mr. Zhao was not a source for the article.
Mr. Zhao's continued imprisonment demonstrates just how far China still has to travel before it can pretend to call itself a just society.