Letter to the Editor: No China atrocity

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    Dear Editor,

    In the Thursday, September 19th issue of the Daily Universe, your opinion page had an editorial headlined with the accusation: “China as guilty as Iraq”, and proceeded with gruesome accounts of the inhumane and barbaric acts that seem to occur frequently in China.

    We grew up in China and continue to make frequent visits. Happily, we have not witnessed the parallel comparison you make between China and Iraq. What we have seen is something that you have ignored in your editorial: China’s great economic growth and democratic progress.

    Numerous BYU students and faculty have visited China to participate in cultural exchange programs. Perhaps the Editorial Board would be wise to ask which one of these individuals with first-hand China experience would liken China to Iraq, and which one would go to Iraq bearing the same emotions they have had when journeying to China.

    We do not know where the Board obtained its information concerning China and ongoing legislation, but we would be very interested in knowing the source and reliability of the information, which you so confidently present in your story. We know at least that President Bush did not mention China in his UN address.

    Since the Board, in its editorial, seems to aspire toward ideals of peace, freedom, and democracy, encouraging any progression of these ideals in its sister countries should prove more effective than linking nations together under the name of evil and denouncing their institutions. If you had been to China, particularly Tibet, you would have written a more objective and unbiased editorial than the September 19th one. China and Iraq are two different worlds, as any visit to China will attest.

    Dr. Lizhong Geng

    Department of Physical Education

    Dr. Chongming Yang

    Department of Marriage, Family & Human Development

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