Hello and welcome to the Intelligence from the Economist. I'm your host, Jason Palmer.

Every weekday we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world.

In principle, China agreed years ago to stop sponsoring hackers carrying out industrial

espionage for Chinese companies. Not only has the practice continued, it's getting more

organized, even as condemnation for it grows louder and louder.

And if a project got the go ahead, was it green-lighted or green lit? Have I gotten better at

choosing or have I gotten better? If you've ever wondered how to choose which past tense

is the correct one, we've got the rules of thumb you need.

And first, Georgia is in the grips of the largest anti-government protests in a decade.

Demonstrators are coming out in support of former President Mikhail Ormisha Sakashvili.

Mr. Sakashvili is in a prison hospital. He's been on a hunger strike for seven weeks.

There are allegations he's being greatly mistreated, and his doctors say he's in critical

condition. Yesterday, the European Court of Human Rights demanded that his safety be

ensured and that he have access to medical care.

Mr. Sakashvili had been in exile in Ukraine for eight years, stripped of his citizenship

by the leader of the increasingly authoritarian ruling party, Georgia Dream. He'd returned

ahead of elections last month to rally for opposition politicians hoping to unseat the

party, but he was immediately and very publicly arrested.

Now he's in a standoff with the government. Protests are growing larger, and Mr. Sakashvili

is growing weaker.

Mikhail Sakashvili is a former President of Georgia, but he is more than that.

Arkadyoshtrovsky is a Russia and Eastern Europe editor.

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