China Puts a Leader of Democracy Movement on Trial
BEIJING — Zhai Weimin, a student leader of the pro-democracy movement crushed in 1989, went on trial Thursday, 20 months after he was arrested for allegedly founding an anti-government organization, Chinese sources said.
The sources said trials are also expected soon for several other participants in the massive protests in and around Beijing’s Tian An Men Square.
Zhai’s trial comes at a time when the government is believed to be preparing to release some other dissidents and allow some to go abroad in response to U.S. and other Western pressure.
The contradictory actions indicate that Chinese leaders are torn between punishing those who challenged their power and showing leniency in order to mend relations with the West.
Most of the thousands of people arrested immediately after the army crushed the protests have been tried or released. However, people arrested months later and people whose cases are considered especially sensitive remain in jail without trial.
There was no official confirmation of Zhai’s trial.
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