Great Leap Backward for China

In sentencing three democratic activists who attempted to create a new political party, the Chinese government has sent an unequivocal message: Organized opposition to the Communist regime will not be tolerated. That drew a dark shroud over flashes of a more open atmosphere in China.

The latest and harshest crackdown on pro-democracy activists flies in the face of Beijing’s signing of the U.N. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which requires signatory nations to protect peaceful political expression and association. China also committed to similar obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Xu Wenli, Wang Youcai and Qin Yongmin were arrested and tried separately for their efforts to create what they called the China Democracy Party. They had promised authorities they would not challenge the Communist Party’s ruling status or violate any laws, then embarked on registering their party in locales from the coastal province of Zhejiang to the inland industrial center of Wuhan.

The trials were shams: After a mere three hours, the 55-year-old Xu, a prominent dissident who served a 12-year prison term for his involvement in the Democracy Wall movement of the late 1970s, was sentenced to 13 years for “subversion of state power.” Wang, 32, a leader in the 1989 Tiananmen protests, was sentenced to 11 years. Qin was sentenced to 12.

With these verdicts China has taken a major leap backward. Its attempt to divert criticism by releasing another dissident, Liu Nianchun, and exiling him to the United States cannot expunge the regime’s determination to erase the word “democracy” from Chinese affairs. This course will cost Beijing.