Letters: Oct. 17, 1983

China After Mao

To the Editors:

I admired Theodore H. White's frankness and vividness in describing the events in China both present and past [Sept. 26]. I am of Taiwanese background and was reared on propaganda against China. After I came to the U.S., I perceived the difference between reality and hyperbole. Nevertheless, the pride of Taiwan equals the pride of mainland China. Taiwan should be left alone.

Amy Lai

Amherst, Ohio

White's extraordinary article on China is like the exquisite Oriental vases I often associate with that country: massive, colorful, delicate yet powerfully poignant.

Jacqueline Scapin

Paris

The report on China was fascinating. It is obvious that America and the world cannot ignore this "sleeping giant."

Scott Golding

Austin

The Cultural Revolution and Mao's earlier blunders were not China's whole revolutionary experience, as White seems to suggest. Nor should the downfall of the Gang of Four be interpreted to mean that the revolution has burned out. And further, it is wrong to imply that an industrialized China may not work to the world's good. Have we no ideas for working in harmony with developing economies? Anyone who has properly analyzed recent changes inside China must conclude that its socialist system is there to stay. China has developed into a state ordered by Marxist-Leninist-Maoist thought. Please do not try to sell China to the American people by suggesting otherwise.

Robin A. Ball

Leeds, England

Kudos to Theodore White for his touching yet analytical portrait of China in transition. I recently returned from a visit to the homeland that I had never seen. Although its proliferating population remains China's greatest obstacle to modernization, I agree with White that human envy and appetite are potentially equally dangerous perils. While walking down a bustling Shanghai boulevard, I encountered a swarm of people surrounding a street merchant. What was the object of everyone's smiling fascination? A Rubik's Cube.

The Chinese people have followed an austere life-style for so long that their desire for such items is hardly a surprise. Yet if Deng Xiaoping is to succeed in his Four Modernizations, he may have to suppress consumerism. The task of industrial progress will require that China's limited exchange be spent wisely. Rubik's Cubes, and similar products, may be the wrench in the cogs of China's revitalization.

Peter C. Ho

New Haven, Conn.

White's article presents Mao as a devilish dictator who would kill millions to enhance his power. Mao is worse. He is in the same class as Hitler. The Chinese would be wise to scrap his thoughts entirely if they wish to achieve peace and move ahead economically. The U.S., on the other hand, would benefit from helping China to modernize. When China's economic standards reach those of the West, there is a chance that the Chinese may discard the Communist system and become a major force in the free world.

Owen M. Lin

Alhambra, Calif.

West German Activists