Botswana China President Jiang Zemin s formal consolidation of power after the death of Communist patriarch Deng Xiaoping in February prompted muted calls from within the Communist Party hierarchy for political reform. But while Jiang s program of aggressive economic reform has taken center stage, there has been scant progress toward greater freedom of expression. Pursuing a public agenda of a strong, unified China reaching out to the world, Jiang witnessed China s resumption of control over a prosperous and relatively relaxed Hong Kong in July. In September, the 15th Communist Party Congress offered Jiang a platform to propose further privatization and modernization of China s economy. Despite his vision of a modern society, Jiang and his Communist Party allies continue to restrict the press and brook little dissent.
Chinese newspapers remain distinctly subdued in discussing official events.
For example, they published only state-sanctioned reports of Jiang s October visit to the United States, with no mention of the human rights demonstrators who dogged Jiang s every step during the U.S. trip. In late December, officials announced new restrictions on Internet use, which is growing rapidly in China. In addition, China has pursued a policy of blocking access to World Wide Web sites maintained by news organizations, dissidents, and human rights groups abroad that may carry information critical of the regime. The ailing Wei was exiled to the United States as a condition of his release on medical parole, but calls for the release of fellow dissident writer Wang Dan went unheeded. In a disturbing footnote, the White House tried to prevent the Voice of America s television service, which is carried on Worldnet, a television satellite network operated by the U.S. Information Agency, from broadcasting an interview with Wei into China, for fear of offending Beijing.