China Beijing Spring

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The student leader's faith in the system is bound to be challenged by events. Late last week the two sides in the conflict were still shadowboxing over the protesters' chief demand: an ongoing dialogue between independent student leaders and senior government officials. An initial three-hour session on Saturday failed to satisfy student activists when the government side refused to recognize the legitimacy of the students' newly formed association. The government's decision to talk, not fight, "is only a tactical one," says an influential party member. When Hu Qili, the party's propaganda chief, briefed top editors of the party-controlled press late last week, he reportedly likened the unfolding crisis to the situation in Poland, telling them that the government could not accept all the students' demands lest it create "many Lech Walesas, not only in Beijing but in every province."

The students, of course, still have their megaphones. "We reserve the right to demonstrate again if the government fails to show good faith during the dialogue," says Wang Zongliang, 22, a geology student at Peking University. Rallies are already planned for May 4, the 70th anniversary of the beginnings of China's student movement. If those demonstrations prove half as successful as the one that shook Beijing last week, the conservative Chinese leadership might finally be forced to couple its economic reform with a relaxation of restrictions on political and civil rights. But few government observers expect much movement from the stubborn Deng. As one informed party member put it, "Deng Xiaoping never admits his errors."