According to the Chinese, it's easier to move a mountain than change a person's nature. Time and again, the Chinese authorities, through their actions, have confirmed the truth of this saying. They just did it again a few days ago when they stopped the wife of a blind activist serving a prison term from leaving the country.

The activist, Chen Guangcheng, who has been blind since childhood and who studied law on his own in order to help farmers with grievances go to court, is in prison after he documented cases of forced abortions and other abuses by officials in Shandong province. He was jailed on what appeared to be trumped-up charges of damaging property and organizing a mob to disturb traffic. In recognition of his "irrepressible passion for justice in leading ordinary Chinese citizens to assert their legitimate rights under the law," Mr. Chen was chosen to receive the 2007 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership.

His wife, Yuan Weijing, decided to go to Manila to accept the award on his behalf. Before she could board her plane, however, police (apparently from Shandong's Linyi region) barred her way, removed her baggage and confiscated her passport. The authorities did not provide any reason for denying her the right to travel. No doubt, they did not want her to publicize her husband's case.

But they do not seem to realize that, by their actions, they will bring international opprobrium down on China, not just Shandong province. By trying to shield themselves, they are hurting the nation, showing the world that China is not a country where the rule of law is respected.

This behaviour is consistent with China's treatment of others in the country who have distinguished themselves. In 2004, the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service was given to Jiang Yanyong in recognition of "his brave stand for truth in China, spurring life-saving measures to confront and contain the deadly threat of SARS."

While the SARS virus was spreading in China in late 2002 and 2003, the Chinese government was covering up the severity of the epidemic. It was Dr. Jiang who leaked the information to Western news agencies. When Western countries put pressure on China, Beijing fired the minister of public health and took steps to deal with the epidemic. Needless to say, Dr. Jiang was prevented from leaving the country to receive his award. China did not want the world to be reminded of its cover-up, an act that had led to the deaths of hundreds of people outside of the mainland.

Gao Yaojie, now 79, has an even worse experience. She had embarrassed the authorities in Henan province by exposing how HIV had been spread through illegal blood sales. In 2001, she was awarded the Jonathan Mann Award for Global Health and Human Rights but was put under house arrest and prevented from receiving the award. In 2003, she was honoured with the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service and again was prevented from receiving it.

This year, Dr. Gao was chosen by Vital Voices Global Partnership, a non-profit group, to receive its 2007 Global Women's Leadership Award for Human Rights. Again, the provincial authorities put her under house arrest. It was only after U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton intervened that Beijing allowed Dr. Gao go to leave the country to receive her award.

But, with the latest incident involving the wife of Chen Guangcheng, it would appear that the situation in China has not improved. Local officials are still doing everything possible to keep embarrassing information from coming out, and are willing to go to great lengths to achieve this - harming the country's reputation as a result.