China's tight grip on Net
I thought your paper may be interested to know that the Internet controls in the PRC have recently become much more fine-tuned.
The Washington Post was completely blocked until only a few months ago, then suddenly without explanation the site was opened. It remained completely open until recent weeks. Now there appears to be some sort of monitoring software which prevents individuals from accessing certain articles -- obviously those containing information considered sensitive by the government.
As for the Taipei Times, the story is much stranger. The Taipei Times site was completely opened until a few days ago. I was surprised to find certain articles available on your site when stories covering the same subject matter were blocked on the Post's site. So I copied them to my Yahoo account and mailed them to a friend in Taiwan -- curious to see the result. The next day my Yahoo account was blocked and the Taipei Times site, although still available, seems to be filtered in the same fashion as the Post site -- the stories I had accessed several days earlier are now completely blocked and if you enter sensitive keywords into the Taipei Times search engine the whole site is disconnected.
I guess the moral of the story is "don't underestimate China's commitment to policing the Internet."
Rosanne Cerello
Shanghai
Web site just propaganda
In his letter Stephen Carter (Letters, Sept. 28, page 9) urges people to visit the British prime minister's Web site, "where documentary proof is clearly and rationally laid out for all to see" of the evidence against Iraq. He asks us to read the evidence and make up our own minds about Blair's "dossier" of Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction."
Unfortunately, its 50 pages are a mass of half-truths, distortions and outright lies which begin with the spurious claim that a report by the International Institute of Strategic Studies "suggested Iraq could assemble nuclear weapons within months." That is not the case, as the Institute's report concluded that Iraq was years from developing, let alone perfecting and manufacturing, nuclear weapons.
More examples of Blair's ridiculous assertions abound in this so-called dossier. Iraq has "military plans" for the use of chemical and biological weapons. And the West doesn't have contingency plans for the use of it's own weapons of mass destruction? "Iraq has constructed test equipment for a missile capable of striking British military bases in Cyprus." Oh, no! He's got test equipment! Has anyone ever been attacked by test equipment?
"Iraq has retained up to 20 al-Hussein missiles, with a range of 650km, capable of carrying chemical or biological warheads." During the Gulf War it was announced by the West that the al-Hussain missile (an adapted Scud) was NOT capable of effectively deploying chemical or bio weapons.
"Iraq has developed mobile laboratories for military use." So has the US, the UK and almost every other "advanced" nation. "Iraq is preparing to conceal evidence of weapons and incriminating documents from weapons inspectors in the future." And the US refused to ratify treaties that would allow its own bio-weapon facilities to be inspected.
Prime Minister Tony Blair says in the report: "I am in no doubt that the threat is serious and current, that he has made progress on weapons of mass destruction and that he has to be stopped." That's his opinion but so far I'm not convinced.
"Saddam does not regard weapons of mass destruction as a last resort." Bush himself has said that he would consider use of tactical nukes against enemies of the US.
This blatant exercise in propaganda is being used to cover up the real agenda of Bush and Blair's imperialistic adventure to secure their oil assets by setting up a pro-Western puppet regime in Iraq, as they have so clearly done in Afghanistan.
Richard Green
Taipei
Truth commission needed
You hit the nail on the head -- now is indeed the time for Taiwan's fledgling democracy to blossom (Editorial, Sept. 30, page 8). Part and parcel of this process is the real need for the past to be acknowledged, no matter how painful the process.
For too long have the people of Taiwan digested the KMT's spoonfed propaganda, had their heritage and culture demeaned and more recently, had their national dignity clouded by economics. The 228 Incident and the White Terror are a reality which are all too easily glossed over and forgiven by a populace which, until recently, has been suppressed and duped by an all-powerful KMT regime. Our present government needs to address this issue forthwith.
First, they must bring to book all those, living or dead, who carried out these crimes; and second, they should investigate fully and find a way to give back to the people of Taiwan the ill-gotten wealth of the KMT which was originally stolen from the nation. A truth commission would be an important step in the right direction.
It is imperative that Taiwan consolidate its democratic foundation and start building for the future. This will also entail dismantling the dictatorial parts of the executive structure that currently exist, and by and large, are accepted by a populace conditioned to embrace the status-quo.
Bringing the old guards of the KMT before a truth commission and publically stating their crimes can only strengthen Taiwan's democracy. This will help in the rebuilding of a country which is already under fire from a communist regime bent on persecuting its own people and perpetuating the myth of "one China."
David Kinsella
Taiwan
It is really surprising and refreshing to see that someone in Taiwan is talking about a truth commission. I will not forget nor forgive for the murder of my beloved brother at the age of 22 of the hands of KMT. The Chinese will never admit any guilt on their part; that's their nature. Please let me know if there would ever be a real truth and reconciliation commission in Taiwan, because I have really looked for a closure to our sufferings.
Thomas Liu
Los Angeles, California
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