CHINA WATCH : Waiting Game

For better or worse, the current Chinese leaders--sometimes unkindly dubbed the Obstreperous Octogenarians--certainly have a clear sense of priorities. They continue to emphasize economic development for the country’s masses, and flip human rights not just into the back seat of the car but into the trunk.

That outrages human rights groups the world over, but Western leaders like President Bush and British Prime Minister John Major say they can live with it for now. They are eager to deepen relations with Beijing and know that this clique of Chinese leaders, at least, won’t be intimidated by Western shouting. Major’s current trip to China illustrates the approach.

The British are eager to see a Hong Kong airport deal through to completion and are prepared to weather criticism that London is giving this harsh regime too much respect.

Perhaps by now the Beijing octogenarians are wondering about the world around them, especially as the once-communist Soviet Union de-communizes and de-unionizes itself.

After making what British officials described as a “strong and detailed presentation” on concerns over human rights violations, Major told reporters: “I have to live in the real world. It would not be proper to sit back, strike attitudes and let Hong Kong pay the price.”

That is a properly pragmatic attitude. It is hard to believe that human rights in China will be forever so low on the ladder of national values. Surely nothing is forever. Change, some day, must come, even there.