Shocked Jocks

Hong Kong's famously blunt radio call-in shows got less lively last week, when commentator Allen Lee hung up his headphones, saying he was getting too much pressure from friends for him to stay on the air. Lee was the third commentator in 16 days to quit, following a relentless campaign by Beijing to let Hong Kongers know that calls for more democracy in the territory aren't wise and won't be heeded. Lee also resigned his position in the National People's Congress, China's legislature, the first Hong Kong delegate to do so. The political climate, said Lee, was getting incendiary: "The temperature in Hong Kong is on the rise. There is a smell of burning."