What Liberalization?

"I am here to strengthen the bridge between those who were forced to flee and those who have carried on the struggle from within," said dissident student leader Shen Tong in a statement prepared for a press conference in Beijing. But the flamboyant pro-democracy activist, one of the first to flee to the U.S. after the 1989 crackdown, never made it to the briefing. In a predawn swoop on his mother's home, police hauled off Shen and two Chinese supporters for questioning. Two French journalists he had hired to shoot a video of his odyssey were deported to Hong Kong. A day later, Boston-based Sinologist Ross Terrill, author of several books on China and Shen's adviser, was detained and subsequently expelled from the country, accused of "actions incompatible with his status as a tourist."

During his three years of exile in Boston, Shen, 24, organized groups opposed to the Beijing government. At the end of July, he returned legally to the mainland, where he traveled freely and met discreetly with underground groups and government critics. Even though some of the groups argued that they should now support Deng Xiaoping, who is trying to dismantle the Stalinist economy, Shen insisted on setting up a Beijing branch of the U.S.-based Democracy for China Fund, a dissident organization that he heads.

Shen's daring move may have been calculated to test the sincerity of Beijing's latest public relations campaign. To help modernize the country, Chinese authorities have been wooing students home from overseas. Shen's arrest could discourage the students from returning, and it might also galvanize support in the U.S. Congress for a bill that would allow them green- card status.