China’s Policies

* Whether China is ready to make peace with the Dalai Lama does not rest on Jim Mann’s three assumptions (International Outlook, Nov. 11). It rests on China’s adopted foreign policy to resolve conflicts through open dialogue instead of confrontation. This policy has been successfully applied by China to resolve differences of human rights with the Western countries, to Great Britain in the return of Hong Kong, to Portugal in the return of Macao in 1999 and now on Taiwan and Tibet.

The Dalai Lama left Tibet in exile to India after an unsuccessful Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule supported by the CIA in 1959. Chinese President Jiang Zemin already announced that if and only if the Dalai Lama openly declares that Tibet and Taiwan are integral parts of China and he is not seeking independence for Tibet, then “the door is always open.”

The Dalai Lama is playing his political game with the U.S. He said, “I am not seeking independence for Tibet.” On the other hand, he never openly declares his position. When the situation is not in his favor, now he says, “Sometimes a low profile is useful.” It is interesting to see how President Clinton matches this odd couple--one who has no intention to marry the other.

WYMAN WUN

Rancho Palos Verdes

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Your suggestion (editorial, Nov. 11) to ask the troubled Asian countries for open markets and less government control sounds more politically correct, but not as a practical solution.

Compare what happened to the Soviet Union and China over the past 10 years. The event at Tiananmen, sad as a tragic event, eventually led to prosperity for the people in China. In China, government control and political stability fostered economic development. Reform and democratic movement at the Kremlin spelled disaster for the Russian people.

American companies will not be able to make money in Asia before the Asians manage to get back on their feet. Allowing an increased trade deficit, though highly unpopular, may be the best avenue for us to take without resorting to food aid or monetary assistance to these troubled nations.

LESTER H. LEE

Sunnyvale, Calif.