Chen Guangcheng (陈光诚)

The greatness of Chen Guangcheng is that his exposure of local police and government corruption pulls directly upon the knotted root of the PRC: the corrosion of the "rule of law" into a degenerate and capricious rule of men via the oxidant of political power. His three demands of Wen Jiabao are not limited to his own personal case of injustice, but they strike right at the central problem with the Chinese State - and with all States - the problem of restricting the use and abuse of political power.

For that service to the Chinese people, rendered all the more bold by his own several acts of defiance, Chen Guangcheng's voice might well be the single most morally compelling voice in all of China, if not further afield too.

However, now that he is ensconced inside the U.S. Embassy for the time being, everything depends on Wen Jiabao. If he accedes to Chen's three demands and personally oversees the investigation, then good. If he does not - or is "persuaded" not to by the other members of the Politburo - then it may be that they cook-up some face-saving "investigation" in which allegations against Chen himself will also be investigated. If that's the way it goes, then that could force a stand-off with the U.S. Ambassador. I'm not sure they wouldn't sell him out eventually.