Iraq makes CCP nervous
By reciting the works of a businessman and a lawyer, Gordon Chang and Kenichi Ohmae, your editorial provides an excellent portrait of two Chinas ("Taiwan can't afford to speculate," Apr. 4, page 8).
The "two Chinas" I am referring to are among the vast mass of Chinese population. Like Iraqis, one China, like President Saddam Hussein's inner circle, would monopolize their power, nations resources, support the "leader" no matter what, and be willing to kill for their leader, purchase weapons instead of food and medicine, only to enhance their grip on power and have a substantially higher standard of living than the rest.
The oppressed China would keep silent and go about their daily business and provide for itself and their families. The people would take orders. They would like to see a lot of change, but there is not much they can do for the time being. They might be timid now, but they are waiting for a chance, when they see Saddam's grip can be defeated, they'll vote with their feet for a better life, freedom and humanity. Their "anti-American" certainly shows these two faces.
Chinese nationalism is no more powerful than Islamic fundamentalism, and using such ideologies to solidify power or to further territorial ambitions will fail. It will not stand much of a chance against the modern universal values of freedom, the respect for human rights and democracy.
Seeing droves of civilian, troops, even Republican Guards surrendering to the coalition forces must have made the Chinese Communist Party nervous. The truth is, the vast majority of Chinese people are waiting for the same kind of chance when they can have a say in their own affairs, affect their lives, their future, equitably distribute their national resources, see some respect for human rights and dignity.
Ironically, the outbreak of SARS has brought these two aspects of China to a head. For economic reasons, China hid SARS to prevent frightening tourists and investors. Due to backward thinking and an inept political background, the Chinese government did not take the disease seriously enough. This will hurt the economy.
Like Saddam, who has found out too late, the best thing for him to have done would have been to gradually and peacefully loosen his grip on the population and transfer power to a democratic government. China now has two potential models of regime collapse, the Russian model or the Iraqi model. While it may not be a coalition force that topples the Communist Party, another Tiananmen square will do.
As for Taiwan, no matter what China emerges to be, it has only one way to go -- be united and solidify democracy with the help of the only superpower on earth, with or without UN. Taiwan will fly with the rest of the world on universal values of love of peace and human dignity.
Chen Ming-chung
Chicago
Stop disease, forego meat
The outbreak of SARS now spreading across the globe appears to be the latest example of a virus leaping from animals to people and wreaking havoc. Many viruses are harmless to animals, but they mutate and become deadly when introduced to the human system. The World Health Organization reports that the annual influenzas that sicken thousands almost always originate in chickens, ducks or pigs living in great numbers close to people in southern China. The influenza epidemic of 1918, which swept the globe killing 20 million people, began in pigs.
AIDS is believed to have originated in non-human primates. A new variant of mad cow disease is believed to be the result of a sickness that spreads from sheep to cows and finally to people who eat infected animals. Even more frightening are the diseases that haven't been discovered yet.
Viruses can live for years hidden in the cells of their animal hosts, completely undetected by people who may unknowingly be exposed to potentially lethal viruses. Monkeys who carry the macaque herpes B virus show no symptoms, for example, but humans infected the same virus are sickened by a deadly encephalitis. We may be setting the course for our own destruction with our cavalier use and manipulation of other animals. There is something we can all do in our own lives to help break the cycle -- go vegetarian! It is time to stop imprisoning and eating animals, for our sakes, as well as theirs.
Jason Baker
Hong Kong
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