Hu Jia Wins Sakharov Prize

Here. The article warns: "Hu, 35, was chosen by the European Parliament as this year's recipient of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, despite warnings from Beijing that his selection would harm relations with the European Union."

What, exactly, is the rest of the world supposed to do to avoid harming relations with China? The answer, of course, is never to do anything that might one day stop China from repressing its people - and being complicit in repression elsewhere by dealing with amoral dictators like Robert Mugabe and supplying gunship helicopters to Sudan.

What to do? It's easy. Keep encouraging the emerging Chinese civil society - well-represented by heroes like Hu - through clear international recognition. It's my same suggestion for mitigating unmitigated Muslim outrage - publish the famous Mohammed cartoon over and over again, every single day. Eventually even the most excitable imam runs out of hot air. This is called "desensitization", and in the twenty-first century, it's hard to hide from information, even in China. Try as they might, neither Muslim fundamentalists nor the CCP's senior management can maintain their outrage at the influx of free information from liberal democracies, or at the world's recognition of Chinese government ineptitude and repression.

IF IT'S BAD FOR THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT, IT'S GOOD FOR EVERYONE ELSE.