■"Legal Gadfly Bites Hard, and Beijing Slaps Him," by Joseph Kahn, New York Times, 13 December 2005, p. A1.

■"China detains commander in village shooting: Protesters killed in land dispute as tensions mount in rural areas," by Calum Macleod, USA Today, 12 December 2005, p. 11A.

Great story about a crusading lawyer in China, who "travels the country filing lawsuits over corruption, land seizures, police abuses and religious freedom," always risking career and limb to fight the Communist Party in court!

In my conclusion, "Heroes yet discovered," I write about "China's Erin Brockovitch."

Well, this guy doesn't need a push-up bra, but he was actually born in a cave, so take that Abe Lincoln! We may be looking at a serious father of a new China down the road.

Civil cases in China topped 4 million last year, up 30 percent from 1999. As the article says, "ordinary citizens in fact have embraced the law as eagerly as they have welcomed another Western-inspired import, capitalism."

Good markets leading to good governments.

Want some evidence? "Chinese authorities on Sunday detained the commander of the troops that fired on villagers protesting land seizures in southern China. The assault killed at least three people last Tuesday in Dongzhou village, Guangdong province. "The commander's wrong actions caused deaths and injuries, and Shanwei investigative agencies have taken the step of detaining him according to law Ö" so sayeth the Guandown provincial government.

Why does the Communist Party allow this? Rural peasant revolts are up 50% from 1999.

Getting the picture? Think Beijing is moving fast enough toward political pluralism? Think the process is moving in the right direction?

Think China's embrace of globalization has anything to do with this?

Think I'm hopelessly naÔve about China now?