The New York Times has published a long account of the incarceration and non-trial of Times employee Zhao Yan, written by Beijing-based journalist Jim Yardley. The article provides more background on Zhao and how his arrest came about, over a cockroach in a salad of all things. It's interesting because it provides some depth behind one of the stories that is often used as an example of China's treatment of journalists who cross the state:

Mr. Zhao, 43, who worked as a researcher for the newspaper's bureau in Beijing, was no stranger to State Security when it picked him up last Sept. 17 at a Pizza Hut in Shanghai. His previous work as a muckraking journalist and rural activist earned him regular visits from agents and invited speculation that his past life was the reason for his arrest.

But a confidential State Security report and interviews confirm that Mr. Zhao was the focus of a high-level investigation begun in response to an article in The Times on Sept. 7.

The article, which cited two anonymous sources, stated that Jiang Zemin, the former president and Communist Party chief, had unexpectedly offered to resign his last leadership position, as head of the military - an exclusive report that was proved accurate when Mr. Jiang retired on Sept. 19.

In many other countries, information about the future of a political leader would be considered in the public domain. But even as China's authoritarian leaders now promise a more impartial legal system to their citizens and the multinational corporations that do business here, they continue to use the loosely defined state secrets law to single out political enemies and prevent journalists from prying into the inner workings of the top leadership of the ruling Communist Party.

The Times has stated that Mr. Zhao did not provide any information about Mr. Jiang's resignation. And the confidential State Security report, which was described by Jerome A. Cohen, an adviser retained by The Times to assist with Mr. Zhao's defense, does not accuse him of doing so.

From: Secrecy veils China's jailing of a journalist: By Jim Yardley, New York Times, August 31, 2005

The article makes clear the opacity and apparent arbitrariness of the legal system in which Zhao is ensnared. But lest we Americans get to smug at yet another demonstration of our moral superiority, you might wish to read this article in the UK's Guardian, which discusses the imprisonment of two Reuters employees at Abu  Ghraib by American authorities in Iraq. One has just had his imprisonment without trial extended for six months:

The military is refusing to disclose why it is holding Kadhem, who was arrested on Sunday following a shooting incident that killed his colleague, soundman Waleed Khaled.

Reuters has demanded the release of both journalists, and today David Schlesinger, global managing editor for the news organisation, said he was "shocked and appalled" by the decision to continue to detain al-Mashhadani without charge and without allowing him access to legal representation of his choosing.

From: US to hold Reuters cameraman for six months, by Claire Cozens, The Guardian, August 31, 2005

Away from the inconveniences of our Constitution, are we so different? If we're going to channel our outrage, we should channel some of it at ourselves as well. Especially as Iraq, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo fatigue begin to set in and we stop paying attention to anything other than Cindy Sheehan.