Elisabeth Rosenthal writes that although people in China can still get in trouble for organizing a political party or a workers' protest.

Many former activists have come in from the cold to promote their ideas as lecturers, editors or authors. With China's private sector booming, they can now do so with a degree of intellectual and financial freedom.

At universities,

talk of multiparty democracy and free trade unions � ideas that would have meant jail time a decade ago � are now common cafeteria discussions.

That's heartening. Still,

Human rights activists complain that dozens if not hundreds of dissidents are still in prison for espousing ideas that are now commonplace.

And the government's newfound tolerance is applied unevenly and unpredictably.