World Notes CHINA

As tokens of a return to "normality," Beijing last month lifted martial law and released a few detainees. But has China had a change of heart? Not according to two human-rights reports circulated last week.

In a 164-page paper, Asia Watch, a New York City-based human-rights organization, called Beijing's justice system "essentially pre-modern." The government's crimes include the shooting of students who tried to spread word of the Beijing massacre, arrest without trial of 10,000 to 30,000 people, solitary confinement for detainees and torture by electric cattle prod. Says Asia Watch: "There is simply no rule of law in China worth mentioning."

In Washington an equally critical State Department document concurred with some of the Asia Watch claims and listed still more abuses, such as raids on universities, loyalty tests and a "massive" disinformation campaign. Asked how the State Department report squared with the Administration's conciliatory approach to Beijing, a White House official said, "The President has often expressed his concern about human rights in China."