ASIA'S NEW ORDER

China wanted Clinton's trip [JULY 13] to improve the image of President Jiang in the eyes of the Chinese people and firm up his grip on power. This goal has apparently been achieved. But what did the U.S. gain? Not much. Now that the party is over, can we face the fact that China is a communist country? Is communism still a threat to the democratic world? To the Asian countries, Taiwan in particular, the answer is yes. The U.S., the leader of the free world, should have second thoughts about the way it treats communist China and democratic Taiwan.
CHENG-MIN TSENG
Port Elgin, Canada

The red-cheeked Clinton as a groom and Jiang as a rather short, dumpy bride made for an amusing couple on your cover. But maybe they should have been perched atop a cake shaped like the earth. And perhaps we will see a new couple within the decade: Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji as groom paired with an American (or European?) bride.
B.B. TALEGHANY
London

Clinton's visit allowed 1.2 billion Chinese to see the No. 1 person of the country that makes Coca-Cola, Nike sportswear and Boeing aircraft, all of which are quite familiar to Chinese eyes. Clinton's open exchange of views with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Peking University students and callers in Shanghai is unparalleled. The Chinese have now seen a democratically elected leader talk with the people in a direct way. This may make them think twice about why their own party leaders are seldom seen in public, let alone speaking in an impromptu fashion with them.
XIAO-MING YU
Charlottesville, Va.

America has long used the ploy of playing Japan against China in its game of Asian diplomacy. Bill Clinton has certainly been dazzled by China as a market for U.S. products; he seems unable to see that country's true colors. On behalf of Japan, I will say this to Americans who want to interfere in our economic affairs: "You have not been asked to be a backseat driver; mind your own business. Remember, this country has a huge investment in U.S. Treasury bonds."
TSUTOMU NAKAMURA
Kamakura, Japan

We should be jubilant that Clinton was broadcast live on Chinese TV and radio. He was able to state the case for human rights in a historic forum, and his message will bear fruit over the next 10 years. China is far from perfect, but we should not look down on its human-rights record without recalling the U.S.'s own version of Tiananmen Square: Kent State, where the National Guard shot at students protesting the Vietnam War.
SUSAN MANN
La Jolla, Calif.

Americans believe that everybody else wants to be like them, but the idea that the Chinese want American-style democracy is not only a false assumption but a dangerous one as well. The suggestion is that Chinese society can be remolded in the American image. China has existed for more than 3,000 years, and the Chinese have their own ideas about where they want their nation to go. There is a new belief in capitalist economics in China, but to infer that the Chinese see U.S.-style democracy as a panacea for their widespread poverty is, at the very least, an illogical leap.
DAN MARTINEAU
Philadelphia

President Clinton reviewed communist troops in Tiananmen Square, an action that told the world the deeds of the Chinese government, including the murder of protesters in 1989, didn't matter to the American people. And then he sold out 21 million free people in Taiwan by adhering to the one-China policy that does not support Taiwanese independence. Taiwan has now been set up like a bowling pin, the way South Korea was in the 1950s.
ROBERT A. COOPER
Phoenix, Ariz.

JAPAN'S POLITICAL STRUCTURE

The economic recovery and prog ress of Japan after World War II were the result of self-sacrifice on the part of ordinary citizens under the infamous "Iron Triangle" of politicians, bureaucrats and business executives of big conglomerates [July 13]. We have to question why we Japanese, the ordinary people, have been so cooperative and obedient. It is the belief that if we sacrifice ourselves, then our employers or our country will protect us forever. Japan is a highly centralized, tightly controlled society of "managed harmony." It is not a question of whether we are trying to put a Band-Aid on an economy that "needs open-heart surgery," as you said, but rather whether we the people will continue to keep the life-support machine running on a brain-dead political structure.
HIROMICHI OTA
Tokyo

KINGDOM OF THE ANIMALS

I find it difficult to share your enthusiasm about aspects of Disney's new animal park in Florida [July 13]. You examined the pros and cons and concluded that "Disney has solved the dilemma of the modern zoo." A modest, well-kept zoo in a small town provides a better opportunity for observing animals than a big one like Disney's Animal Kingdom.
HENDRIK VAN DEN BERGH
Leuven, Belgium

Your report on the Animal Kingdom theme park read more like an advertisement than a story. According to Disney, conservation is not the theme of Animal Kingdom; entertainment is. Native Flo- rida wildlife has been displaced by 1,000 imported exotic animals, many of which spend their nights in small cages. Strip away the bells and whistles, and Animal Kingdom is just a glorified zoo, another institution that denies animals natural behavior and dignity.
JOE TAKSEL, Managing Director
Animal Rights Foundation of Florida
Pembroke Pines, Fla.

We just returned from three days at Animal Kingdom. We had heard of animal deaths and were concerned. What we found was a group of people dedicated to the preservation and protection of animals. On one of our safaris, a duck ran in front of our tram. The guide immediately stopped and enlisted everyone's help in ensuring that the duck had safely crossed before we moved on. In conversations with the folks at the Conservation Station, which provides information on wildlife and rain forests, it became very apparent to us how important these animals are to the staff. Great job, Disney!
JOEL AND MONICA SENEKER
Fresno, Calif.

Disney chief executive Michael Eisner should find a way to bring the "Magic of Disney" into the worlds of those who may never make it to Orlando, Fla. Many inner-city children learn about guns, drugs and violence well before Mickey gets to them. One of my fondest childhood memories was that Mickey always remembered to send me a birthday card and invite me to a Mickey Mouse Club party that was "especially for me." I am sure Eisner can come up with similar ideas. I hope it's not all about money. Disney's "Imagineers" should go back to the drawing board!
AYALLA JOSEPH
Raanana, Israel

AMERICANS AND GUNS

Statistics on gun deaths in the U.S. [July 6] show that there are more shootings in which the victim and shooter know each other than shootings from an unknown assailant. Yet people continue to think that keeping guns in their homes makes them safer. That mentality scares me far more than the perceived threat of crime ever will. It seems that no matter how many innocents die, no matter how many assassinations tear us apart, we're never going to learn.
MARY LOU SAHD
Landisville, Pa.

Re carrying a gun: I would rather be tried by 12 jurors than carried out by six pallbearers. Don't give me victims' rights; give me self-defense rights.
GLENN P. ALLEN
Sacramento, Calif.

Kids have had access to guns in America since the Mayflower, and for hundreds of years that was not a problem. What has changed to create the senseless, willful disregard of people and property? Whether we have grown dependent on drugs or handouts, individual responsibility is going the way of dinosaurs, and it's taking America with it.
ALAN HILLS
Los Gatos, Calif.

REMEMBERING A PRINCESS

A memorial to Princess Diana is necessary for the many people around the world who loved and respected her [July 13]. You snidely referred to the memorial site at the Spencer family home as "Dianaland"; just call it Althorp.
JEANNE MCCARTIN
Ossining, N.Y.

The legend of Diana is just beginning. The people of Britain are very proud of their beautiful princess, who lit up the world with her unique smile.
FRANK A. LOPEZ
Redwood City, Calif.

THE TAILWIND STORY

The CNN and TIME story alleging that sarin nerve gas was used by U.S. forces in a secret operation in Laos known as Tailwind and your subsequent retraction of it [July 13] left a bitter taste. If so much contradictory information was available after the story was published, why weren't those facts discovered beforehand? Why weren't proper investigative techniques used to find the whole truth instead of attempting to embarrass the U.S. military over Vietnam? It is this type of irresponsible journalism that has widened the gulf between the U.S. military and the press corps.
(Former Sgt.) DANIEL A. BACHRACH
U.S.M.C. Tampa, Fla.

TIME's apology pointedly and unfortunately avoided accepting any responsibility for the story that ran in its pages. That article, we are told, was "written by the CNN journalists," not by TIME's own correspondents. But did the CNN journalists sneak into TIME's offices in the night and insert the article into the magazine? Where were TIME's editors?
JAY WEITZEL
Springfield, Va.

You and CNN blew your journalistic integrity with your Tailwind report. Henry Luce would have cleaned house, including top brass. Until that happens and you return to hard-news and rock-solid journalistic ethics, how can you expect us to believe what you publish?
JOHN L. PERRY
Knoxville, Tenn.

There are still unanswered questions about Tailwind. How could such reportage, quoting a number of eyewitnesses and sources, be so totally reversed, supported by quotes from other "reliable" eyewitnesses and sources? And in your apology, some sources deny that anything in the CNN-TIME story was true. One person even says, "We did not use lethal gas, and we did not kill any defectors, men, women or children." So what was a contingent of Special Forces soldiers doing on that secret mission in Laos? Selling Girl Scout cookies?
BRUCE BRASHEAR
Goteborg, Sweden

JUST HAND HIM A BUD

So there is a trademark struggle over whether Anheuser-Busch can use Budweiser for its brand-name beer around the world [July 13]? Where I come from, Budweiser is not a brand name; it is an acronym: Because U Deserve What Every Individual Should Enjoy Regularly. What ever happened to good ol' American marketing?
STEPHEN F. VASLET
Halifax, Canada