Foul Play

By David Von Drehle, Simon Elegant

Campaigning for the honor of hosting the 2008 Summer Olympics, Chinese officials offered vague assurances about learning to respect human rights. But the lessons have not sunk in. Hu Jia, an imprisoned writer, will soon stand trial on the un-Jeffersonian charge of "inciting subversion of state power." His apparent crime: writing a statement saying that the skyscrapers and venues on display in Beijing from Aug. 8 to 24 rest on a foundation of "tears, imprisonment, torture and blood." Hu's co-author, Teng Biao, was plucked from the street by four men in plainclothes and interrogated for 41 hours. "Before they let me out," a shaky Teng explained to TIME's Simon Elegant, "they told me I should 'speak as little as possible.'"

The Games have often been symbolic wars dressed in short pants. Beijing views this summer as its superpower debut, and the central government won't let separatists or free-thinking dissidents undermine its lockstep message. "At the highest levels," says China analyst Russell Leigh Moses, "showing some teeth is much more viable than marching off into the unknown of reform."

But freedom is a muscle that strengthens with proper exercise. On March 10 and 11, monks took to the streets in Tibet demanding autonomy for their region. It was the largest demonstration there since 1989. Meanwhile, the banner of China's robust economy shows signs of fraying just as the government prepares to run it up the Olympic flagpole. Inflation, contaminated goods and industrial pollution all underscore the fact that China, too, is bound by the laws and limitations of economic development. Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, world-record holder in the marathon, won't run that event in Beijing for fear that the foul air could damage his health.

It's a strange time for the U.S. State Department to drop China from its list of the world's 10 worst human-rights violators. Evidently a decision was made not to inflame tensions. World leaders will gather respectfully as the athletes march into competition. As for the Chinese dissidents, perhaps they can take heart from a bit of ancient wisdom: The race is not always to the swift.