Chinese Human Rights Activist Tried

From NYTimes.com: Chinese Rights Advocate Tried

One of the most prominent human rights advocates in China stood trial on Tuesday morning on subversion charges in a proceeding that lasted three hours and centered on whether his public criticism of the ruling Communist Party represented a threat to the state. A verdict is possible within a week.

However, a new examination of Chinese law enforcement statistics found that the number of people arrested in 2007 on suspicion of political crimes like subversion rose to the highest level in eight years. The analysis found that 742 people were arrested last year on charges like subversion, more than twice the number in 2005, according to the Dui Hua Foundation, a nonprofit group based in San Francisco that is involved in Chinese legal issues.

Mr. Hu has worked on many causes in China, including volunteering to help AIDS patients and participating in tree-planting campaigns. He is a prominent blogger who also disseminates information about peasant protests, dissidents and other issues often censored in the Chinese media.

The Freedom of Speech is a freedom that we take for granted here in the United States.  But this freedom should not just be an American freedom, but a freedom for all citizens of the world.  With the eyes of the world focused on Beijing for the Olympics, all countries should press the Chinese Government to improve its dealing on human rights issues.