Letter to the Editor

LETTERS: NATION IS APATHETIC ABOUT CHINA STATUS

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To the editor:

Cindie Jeter, radio talk-show host from Cape's KZIM radio station, agrees with me. According to her sentiments aired last week, general apathy seems to be pervasive among many people regarding President Clinton's bid to give Communist China permanent most favored nation status. Many Americans might ask, "What is the big deal?"

The positioning of two seemingly unrelated articles in the March 14 Southeast Missourian gave me pause. On Page 9A were "China resolves to enter WTO" and "Cohen examines many obstacles to finding missing U.S. servicemen." The irony of these two articles is discovered in what we Americans choose to remember and in what we choose to forget.

One article describes Defense Secretary William Cohen's visit to Vietnam. This tragedy we remember. Who was the enemy? This we may have forgotten.

The article on China says, "If Congress rejects normal trade relations, Beijing could invoke a WTO rule allowing it to deny U.S. companies access to the Chinese market, causing the United States 'regret for 20 years, for a generation,' Shi Guangsheng suggested." Am I paranoid in believing this sounds like a not-so-veiled threat? Are these the nice boys we want to invite to our neighborhood to play ball?

Perhaps one would argue that China's role in the Vietnam War was a long time ago. The fact that the communist compatriots broke the cease-fire agreement of Jan. 27, 1973, and shortly thereafter conquered South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos is no longer relevant. We should forgive and forget, right? That is open to debate.

Let us remember more. Communist China continues to torment its people with religious and political persecution. Extreme birth-control measures are harshly enforced by the communist state against the wishes of many Chinese families. The list of injustices could go on. Do we remember, and do we care? After answering these two questions, American citizens need to prayerfully consider how to relate to Communist China, a bully on the block of nations.

RITA LaVANCHY

Jackson