Bush "considers himself the preeminent China expert in Washington because of the President's term as United States ambassador to Beijing in the 1970's," Kusnan said. "The problem with Bush is that he is playing a global game using 1970s rules. He's still trying to play the China card even though the changes in Eastern Europe have radically altered the structure of international relations."

HSDC already has a new letter-writing campaign in the works for this spring, aimed at changing Bush's stance toward China, Kusnan said.

In addition, Kusnan said the organization will focus on commemorating the first anniversary of the Beijing killings with a special concert featuring various popular musicians.

Zhao said his 42,000-member organization would need time to rethink before planning its next move.

But even with this recent setback, Zhao said he is confident that democracy will ultimately win out in China.

"The hardliners are in a very insecure place," Zhao said. "The situation in China is very unstable right now and even a small incident could turn the country into another Romania."