World Notes

Four years in jail is a stiff punishment for joining in a peaceful demonstration. Still, the seven individuals sentenced earlier this month to two- to four-year prison terms for their part in Beijing's 1989 Tiananmen Square protests got off relatively lightly. Ordinarily in China, their alleged crimes -- ranging from spreading counter-revolutionary propaganda to subversion -- bring 10- to 15-year terms.

The trials, which were closed to reporters, were the first related to the Tiananmen affair; at least another 355 protesters are yet to have their day in court. In demonstrating leniency, the court was clearly influenced by international pressure to improve Beijing's record on human rights, which was blighted by the massacre of protesters. Though many countries have rebuilt shattered ties with China, the country still suffers from a sharp drop in foreign investments and tourism.

Four of those recently sentenced were students who had been on the government's most-wanted list. But the real test of Beijing's commitment to leniency will come with the still unscheduled trials of the alleged masterminds of the Tiananmen demonstrations, including Chen Ziming and Wang Juntao.