Letters

Friday, Oct 15, 1999, Page 12

I am enjoying the seven-part series about the situation in Xinjiang, or East Turkestan.This is the kind of serious journalism that I haven't seen for quite some time. Most importantly, Cao Chang-ching's articles tell people the truth about East Turkestan after the 1950s. It takes moral courage to tell people the truth about the situation there.

It's hard for me to imagine that, in such a short time, the native Turks in East Turkestan have actually become the minority and the underpriviledged. All the measures the Chinese government have taken against the Turks have created today's East Turkestan. This is almost a cultural, religious and even racial genocide against the indigenous Turks there. All this, I believe, is only for the Chinese government's iron grip and even a "reign of terror" in East Turkestan. I wonder why and how such atrocities can be tolerated or even overlooked by the world community. I don't think all the Chinese people would approve such rule in East Turkestan, if they knew the real situation.

I admire the Turks there who have the courage to fight for their freedom and, at the same time, I am disappointed by the ignorance and inaction of the international community over such a genocide.

Kevin Chiu
Hualien

People in glass houses...

I read with much amusement the guest column by Hsu Hwa-Min, headlined "Foreigners cannot resort to old excuses" (Oct.11, page 8), warning foreigners against drinking and driving in Taiwan.

While Hsu's sentiments certainly are welcome, they seem to be grossly misdirected. Since when did the fairly common practice here in Taiwan of driving while intoxicated become a foreign problem?

If I'm not mistaken, wasn't the chief of police in Taichung recently arrested for driving the wrong way down the freeway resulting in an accident, which seriously injured two people; and this while drunk?

A very good friend of mine lost his 15-year-old son to a drunk driver in Linkou. In this case, the driver was a soldier (in uniform).

While disputing Hsu's assertion that he defended a foreigner involved in a DWI case three years ago, he must be aware that this was an extremely rare event, and the real problem is among Taiwanese drivers, as well as the lax enforcement of the laws by the local police. In the future, Hsu should should take a good look in the mirror and see Taiwan for what it is before he starts pointing fingers and laying blame.

Chris Sullivan
Taipei