Nobody's safe in China's Web squeeze

The new government under President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and Premier Wen Jiabao (溫家寶) has at least given lip-service to a wish to loosen up and become more attentive to the concerns of the people.

The confusing signals have left Chinese dissidents at a loss when asked to predict if times are getting better or worse.

According to one school of thought, Hu and Wen genuinely want a more liberal society, and it is just the lower-level bureaucrats and law enforcers who do not get it yet.

"Some have speculated this is a case of local officials wanting something else than the central government," said Liu Xiaobo, a prominent Beijing-based dissident.

"There's no proof of this, but at least we can hope that the crackdown is simply the result of local officials' behavior, which could still mean Hu Jintao will eventually correct them," Liu said.