Yesterday more than 5,500 people attended pro-democracy rallies in Hong Kong. Currently Hong Kong citizens directly elect only half of the politicians who comprise their local legislative assembly. A committee under Beijing's influence appoints Hong Kong's "chief executive." Beijing has said Hong Kong is ineligible for full democracy before 2008. Who wants to bet that that date won't be postponed? What comfort I take away from stories like these is that, even if something like more than half of the American political elite (that's a rough estimate) no longer takes democracy-promotion seriously, there are plenty of people worldwide, many who labor in hostile environments, who still do.