The new Chinese administration of Hu Jintao and Wen Jibaohas brought with it a new series of arrests and trials. As the list of imprisoned political dissidents continues to grow it has provoked an outpouring of condemnation.

Are the secret police, urged on by ex-Chairman Jiang Zemin, overzealously arresting dissidents to bring shame to the Hu-Wen administration, or do these arrests reveal the true nature of the Hu-wen administration? Either way, it shows that the battle between political reform and anti-reform, or the war between democracy and dictatorship, is becoming more keen-edged. In the course of this war, the case of a Shanghai lawyer Zheng Enchong is a battle which has wide-ranging implications.

Attorney Zheng Enchong was sent to prison for three years for representing residents evicted from their homes to make way for development. He was charged with “leaking state secrets to overseas organizations” for telling Human Rights in China about the public protests against these forced evictions.

Prior to his arrest, Zheng sued developer Zhou Zhengyi on behalf of the residents who suffered the forced and sometimes violent evictions. Zhou had close ties with officials in ex-Party Chairman Jiang Zemin’s Shanghai clique, formed when Jiang was Mayor of Shanghai. Zheng Enchong courageously decided to fight for the rights of the downtrodden and uphold justice, using the notoriously corrupt Chinese courts to try end Zhou’s reign. If Zhou’s crime were exposed, Jiang’s clique in Shanghai would suffer serious loss of power and face. In order to protect their own “imperial court”, Jiang and Central Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee member Zeng Qinghong went to Shainghai to personally oversee the proceedings. Dictatorship won the first round: instead of the facts of Zhou’s illegal behavior being publicized, the Shanghai gang forced the courts to paint Zheng Enchong as the “criminal.” Zheng was tried, convicted, and sentenced to prison for three years.

The Chinese Communist Party has wrongfully imprisoned people throughout its history, and more so in the past decade. However, Zheng Enchong’s case. where the attorney for the plaintiffs is sentenced to prison so the government can protect the defendant, is particularly unjust.

In China, everyone knows that the legal system is not free and independent. Behind Zhou Zhengyi’s case is the battle between former president Jiang and the new Hu-Wen administration. That Jiang still wields considerable power was made evident when the case against developer Zhou Zhengyi was dismissed. However, Jiang’s clique went too far when they disregarded the nation’s reaction to imprisoning Zheng Enchong. That was a big mistake.

Of course the war is not over. Zheng has appealed the verdict. But Shanghai is Jiang’s old stomping ground and the judge will have to resist the impulse to protect himself from Jiang’s revenge. The question is, can the judge be impartial? Not likely. But then Jiang will be exposed if Zheng Enchong is forced to spend even one day in prison.

This case has implications far beyond the illegal arrest of an attorney who fought corruption for the sake of the people. This case could be the catalyst that unites the forces of progress to finally end the reign of Jiang and his cronies. Jiang has made too many enemies and incited too much hatred. He has run out of tricks, and no one is fooled anymore. He has become the most notorious person on the Chinese political scene, and everyone agrees it is past time for him to depart. However, he just won’t give up. Perhaps only a major political crisis can force him to abandon his struggle to maintain power in a nation that has left his kind behind. Perhaps the trial of Zheng Enchong is the spark that ignites that crisis.

This case has gone on for a long time. It has intensified the battle between the previous and current administrations; Jiang’s self-serving policies have turned the people, as well as the new administration, against him. Jiang has attracted the hatred of an ever-growing number of Chinese. At some point, the forces ranged against him will unite, and his day will be done.

No matter whether Zheng Enchong wins his appeal or not, in the scope of Chinese politics, his case is a crucial battle.

Adapted from Dong Xiang Magazine and translated by the Epoch Times.