Ever since China was awarded the 2008 Beijing Olympics seven years ago, hopes had been high that the country's human rights performance would markedly improve, especially in the months leading up to the event.
Alas, those hopes were dashed as the world continued to see political activists harassed, arrested, tried and imprisoned. Even three areas in parks in Beijing set aside for protests areas were never used, as all applications to demonstrate were rejected.
The general feeling now is that the Olympics, while highly successful in terms of enhancing China's international image, will not leave any permanent impact in terms of making the country more liberal and less authoritarian.
However, on Friday night - technically the last day of the Olympic period - Beijing made an announcement that provided some ground for optimism that the Olympics would, after all, leave a positive legacy. Fifteen minutes before more liberalised rules governing foreign journalists brought in during the Olympic period were about to expire, the Chinese foreign ministry held a press conference where it was announced that the rules would be made permanent.
The new rules first came into operation on January 1, 2007 and were set to expire on October 17, 2008. They were introduced because Beijing had promised the International Olympic Committee that foreign journalists would have a free hand in reporting on the country.
Because of the internet, it is now often possible for foreign news stories to be accessible in China so that its people are better informed as to what is going on in their country and are not solely reliant on the censored Chinese media for news.
Those rules do not apply to the Chinese journalists and media, who will continue to be subject to orders from the Communist Party's Propaganda Department and told what to report and what to shun. But making it a little easier for foreign correspondents to do their work is a definite step forward for China.