China Tries to Break Jiang Yanyong

I've written before about Beijing's attempts to silence the prominent medical doctor Jiang Yanyong, who came to fame for his efforts to expose the cover-up of the SARS epidemic. He and his wife, the physician Hua Zhongwei, were on their way to the American embassy to process their visa for a trip to California to see their daughter on June 1 when they were detained. Their detention alone was a desperate move by authorities, who feared his power to act as the conscience of the nation on the fifteenth anniversary of the Tiananmen massacre on June 4. Jiang had written a letter to Party leaders arguing that they should admit that the massacre was a mistake -- an act that would weaken their hold on power and further de-legitimize their brutal regime in the eyes of the people.

The Washington Post reports that sources in China say that Jiang is being subjected to brain-washing techniques in the form of constant mental harassment, intensive interrogations, and around-the-clock supervision until he "'changes his thinking' and 'raises his level of understanding' about the Tiananmen crackdown," according to the Post. But the paper says that Jiang "has refused to back down, and said in a recent note to his family that he would continue to 'face the problems confronting me with the principle of seeking truth from facts,' according to a person close to the family."

It's encouraging that a high level Chinese military official says that support for Jiang is widespread in official government circles. Jiang's actions in exposing the corruption during the SARS cover-up, which cost lives and embarrassed the leadership, won him the respect of millions across China. The official told the Post: "'I consider him a man of honesty and courage,' he said. 'Ninety-nine percent of the people support him.'"

Jiang went against the advice of friends in releasing the letter calling for the Party to come clean on Tiananmen because he wanted to capitalize on his newfound fame stemming from the SARS controversy. With reports about his detention spreading worldwide, even Beijing's best efforts to contain the story will fail. Increased monitoring of email, web sites, and mobile phone text messaging, as outlined in this report, won't be enough to erase him from public memory.

The Tiananmen massacre was followed years later by the brutal suppression of Falun Gong and the gross mishandling of the SARS epidemic. Coupled with the ongoing and outrageous detention of Jiang, the latest chapter in this sorry tale, these acts reveal a leadership terrified of public opinion, much less organized opposition. Colin Powell should call in the Chinese ambassador and tell him bluntly that Jiang's release is a non-negotiable step toward China's entry into the world community. But further behind the scenes, Americans and our democratic allies must make clear that men such as Jiang, who are successors to such brave Soviet dissidents as Andrei Sakharov and Natan Sharansky, won't be shunted aside in the pursuit of "realism." Jiang and others like him need to know that their suffering is not in vain.