Who is Dissident in China ? Any person can be a dissident if he speak his mind out. So we call those brave people who speak out and insist their true believes as dissidents. (boxun.com)

There are another type of dissidents, who act professionally as dissidents, who organize conferences, make announcement, or organize party ¨C all these activities are forbidden in China.

The reality is that professional dissidents are well known by the world. Some (not most) of them have access to support from outside China. The majority of the professional dissidents and almost all of those grass root ones are ignored by the world.

Where is the broken link? Each year, numerous NGOs and foundations grant funds to projects that promoting China democracy, but none of the lawyers who defending dissidents get paid. In that environment, a lawyer chooses to defend for a dissident is crossing a line ¨C he will lose business and even may go to jail. Should they be encouraged for their courage and sacrifice?

As far as we know, two famous grass root dissidents have been in financial difficulties - Huang Qi and Huang Jinqiu. Their family can NOT even pay lawyers' fee. Luckily, they found brave lawyers who are willing to help. Any case will have significant impact in China if there is a serious legal process. The process should be part of democracy efforts, the efforts should be the interest of those receive the financial supports.

Yes, those who have received the funds must have listed many transactions flowing into China. If the dissidents who have caught attention of the world do not receive one cent from these organizations, it is natural to ask: Where did they send the money to? What are they doing? What have they done?

One of the dissident is Huang Qi, who is the first person in China sentenced because of Internet expression. Before he was arrested in June 2000, he used his website to help people find missing family members. He published complaints filed by people who were abused by government. Huang Qi¡¯s story was reported by CNN, ABC and Wall Street Journal. Two lawyers tried their best to defend for him. Each trial caught attention from the world, a few countries asked to send diplomats to hear the trial. Obviously, Huang Qi¡¯s case means a lot to China, as he was the first person trailed because of Internet speech; as most charges used articles published from BBS, the evidence was too weak.

Huang Qi¡¯s family could not pay the minimum amount of lawyer¡¯s fee, his family was in financial difficulty. Yes, as this case caught such an attention from the world, his family got donations from citizens around the world, including a few high school students from Norway.

It is touching story, but it did not move any so-called pro-democracy Chinese organizations. None of them has shown any interest to help Huang Qi financially.

There are many similar cases. Each case does not need a lot. A few hundred US$ will be very helpful.

By knowing this, the world should get a little sense of the future of China. The world has paid too much attention to some professional dissidents who making a living by being professional. There are thousands of people fighting on the grounds. They do not ask for help, as they know it is useless. They are not wrong! It is the world! (boxun.com)