Here’s hoping Governor Pataki doesn’t make the same mistake as President Clinton when, on Saturday, the governor leads a trade mission to Red China. Mr. Clinton put trade ahead of democracy and freedom when he visited the communist state earlier this week for an Internet summit. Human rights advocacy organizations had asked Mr. Clinton to raise the case of a 37-year-old journalist, Shi Tao, who was sentenced in April to 10 years imprisonment for sending an e-mail to democracy activists outside China informing them of the official ban on the state press commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Yahoo had provided the communists with Mr. Shi’s e-mail account information. Mr. Clinton failed mention Mr. Shi.

When we called Mr. Pataki’s office about his visit to China, it referred us to the Empire State Development Corporation, which is organizing the trip. Its spokesman told The New York Sun that it is a “trade mission” and that the governor is “not expected to” discuss the plight of democracy activists. But just in case, here are a few names he could raise with the reds:

Yang Jianli. Mr. Yang is a democracy activist who was based in Boston before being arrested while visiting Red China in 2002. He was accused of illegal entry and of spying for Taiwan. He was sentenced to five years in jail. Forty senators, including Senator Clinton, have written a letter to the Chinese leader, Hu Jintao, asking for his release.

Zhao Yan. A researcher for the New York Times, Mr. Zhao was detained in September last year and accused of giving the Times information on Jiang Zemin’s resignation. He’s being held at a detention center in Beijing.

Hada. The advocacy group Human Rights in China told the Sun that Hada was detained in 1995 for campaigning for democracy and human rights for Mongolians. HRIC says it learned in December that Hada was regularly being tortured.

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima. He disappeared in 1995 after the Dalai Lama proclaimed him the 11th Panchen Lama, the second most important figure for Tibetans. In 1996 the Chinese admitted to holding him for his “protection.” Details of his health and location are unknown to human rights advocates and other Free World leaders.

Qing Yongming. Mr. Qing is one of the founders of the Chinese Democracy Party that calls for a multi-party state. He was imprisoned in 1998 for 12 years.

If Mr. Pataki has time left over he could discuss with his hosts their persecution of religion. The Committee for Investigation on Persecution of Religion in China estimates that since the late 1970s 2.7 million members of “unauthorized” churches have been arrested by the communist regime. Many were “only” fined, 440,000 have been sentenced to “reeducation-through-labor” camps, and more than 10,000 have been tortured to death. The Falun Gong, Buddhists, Muslims, and other religious groups also face persecution. The executive director of HRIC, Sharon Hom, told the Sun that because journalists know they “will disappear into a black hole if they report” details of communist repression, we “cannot know the full extent of abuses.”

The State Department’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2004 would make useful reading for the governor. “According to 2003 government statistics, more than 250,000 persons were serving sentences in ‘reeducation-through-labor’ camps and other forms of administrative detention not subject to judicial review,” the State Department says. “Other experts reported that more than 310,000 persons were serving sentences in these camps in 2003.”

Or the governor can simply take a page from President Bush, who met Mr. Hu late yesterday afternoon at the Waldorf-Astoria and said, in front of reporters, “I will bring up human rights.” Mr. Pataki has a great opportunity to help China’s oppressed democracy movement by highlighting their plight and demanding their release. He has the opportunity to make New York proud.