Letters Index
To the Editor:
You quote President Clinton as
saying that "Russia and China,
where the shackles of state socialism
once choked off enterprise, are moving to join the thriving community of
free democracies" (news article,
May 19). Both are moving to join the
community of market economies,
but only Russia has taken steps to
become a free democracy.
Although flawed in many ways,
Russia is an electoral democracy.
China is an authoritarian regime.
In
Russia, leaders are elected, people
can assemble, worship and travel
freely, and the press can criticize the
Government.
In China, none of these
freedoms exist.
Perhaps Mr. Clinton made a slip of
the tongue.
But for those who worry
that he too often ignores violations of
democratic rights in pursuit of market opportunities, this did not look so
innocent.
MICHAEL
MC
FAUL
Stanford, Calif., May 20, 1998
The writer is an assistant professor of
political science, Stanford University.
To the Editor:
I find it incredible that President
Clinton is going to China under current conditions (news article, May
20). But even more incredible is the
fact that he will be greeted in Tiananmen Square, the site where hundreds
of protesters were murdered by the
Chinese Government.
If President Clinton goes to China,
he should politely tell his hosts that
he will under no circumstances be
greeted in that place of infamy.
Although this may be an insult to the
Chinese dictators, to do otherwise is
an effrontery to those who died there
and to the American pub-lic.
STEVEN
W. YORK
Riverton, Wyo., May 22, 1998