Free Republic

On April 18, 2002, Yang Jianli, a U.S.-based Chinese activist who openly calls for democracy in China, went to China for a short visit after 13 years in exile. A week later, after visiting some cities rocked by protests of unemployed workers, he disappeared. He was secretly arrested by the Chinese government and has been jailed incommunicado for more than a year. Recently the Chinese government announced that it is charging Yang with illegally entering China and espionage, charges which carry sentences ranging from ten years' imprisonment up to the death penalty. Yang's ordeal is, sadly, not an anomaly. In...

Soviet Satellite School Brainwashes Teens Every once in awhile, even the most jaded political combatant will have a moment that stops him in his tracks, a moment that makes him say “wow.” These moments are rare. Political animals make a life out of delivering the same arguments over and over again. The monotony is usually only broken by (i) the different contexts in which these arguments can be made or (ii) original, pointed humor. It takes something special to break through the usual political noise. For me, that something special was a shy teenage girl’s note. My “wow” moment came...