China Shows Its True Colors (int'l edition)

For the past 10 years, we have been enamored of the rise of China from a desperately poor mass of humanity to what we believed to be an emerging power with 1.2 billion eager consumers--surely on the capitalist road, and naturally pursuing a move to democracy (''China after the rage,'' Asian Edition Cover Story, May 24).

The reaction to the Belgrade embassy bombing shows us the true colors of China: an inherently unstable country ruled by a clique that seized power by force 50 years ago, perceiving and dealing with the outside world through its own chauvinistic and inbred ways.

The Beijing leadership cried crocodile tears for the three journalists killed in the bombing and whipped up mass hysteria against the Western powers, egging on the mobs to desecrate Western diplomatic missions. But what possible long-term benefit for China can they hope to achieve? Who in China grieves openly for the hundreds, if not thousands, murdered during the 1989 Beijing spring? It is time we stood at arm's length from China and let its people determine its fate. We must not be tantalized by the specter of profits and a million deals.

N. Alexander
Ottawa


NATO mistakenly fired on the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, and the Chinese government hid Bill Clinton's apology on purpose, presumably guiding its people by saying this accident was entirely intentional, and sanctioned the protests that had been strictly prohibited since 1989's Tiananmen Square. In fact, these protests were arranged in a sophisticated way, and everything seems to have been manipulated by the government. The people's fury was deftly turned into a negotiating chip with major Western countries, particularly the U.S., over World Trade Organization entry, etc.

Narrow nationalism sometimes works, especially when the nation is in trouble, but in most cases, it ends up hurting.

Yea Shin Lin
Taipei

Israel Is a Partner, Not an Outpost (int'l edition)

Israel is unlikely to turn into an R&D outpost for the U.S. (''Hip, edgy, and ripe for the picking,'' Finance, Apr. 12). In fact, the recent wave of acquisitions by U.S. companies is a result of two positive factors: innovation by Israeli high-tech firms and the opening up of Israel's economy. U.S. companies that acquire Israeli companies continue to utilize Israel's R&D capabilities and often expand their activities after an initial investment. When America Online Inc. bought Mirabilis, for example, the number of local employees more than doubled. Most important, these deals create a greater capital flow into Israel, which in turn is funding even more startups.

We see this trend as a vote of confidence in Israel and an opportunity to increase profits for both nations.

Ron Chaimovski
Israeli Economic Minister
New York

No Choice but to Be Green (int'l edition)

It is true that the environment has traditionally been a low priority for Mexican companies. But ''Are Mexicans finally going green?'' (Latin America, May 24) misses two key points. On one hand, economies in developing countries are generally not mature enough to generate the funds to afford cleaning up past pollution, although it is clear that such responsibility cannot be avoided.

On the other hand, far beyond the enforcement capabilities of law and commercial treaties, markets work to promote specific behavior (a green one, in this case). Having environment-friendly industries is one of the demands customers are expressing more and more. Companies exporting to those markets have been forced to offer quality in products, services, and now environment impact, incorporating specific environment-friendly strategies.

Now, different industries in Mexico not only meet air and earth emissions requirements much tighter than those included in local laws, but they are also looking to establish systems to assure that they will be greener every day, in order to be competitive in global markets. In the chemical group I work for, we have a carbon-black plant that is ISO14000 certified, and several other of the plants we have are considered models, compared to others operating in developed countries. In today's markets, companies that want to be competitive have to be green--or they'll die.

Sebastian Lobato
Mexico City

Environmental Laws Don't Grow Overnight (int'l edition)

When I, a Taiwanese-Chinese in the U.S., read ''Taiwan can't afford its bad-boy image'' (Asian Business, May 17), I felt shame for my own country. However, there are a few points the author ignored. How many years did it take the U.S. to pass environmental-protection laws? How soon does the U.S. expect a country, described as having taken nearly 50 years to evolve into a democracy, to have an environmental-protection mentality? If it takes 51 years for the U.S. to have thorough environmental laws, surely it will take Taiwan 51 years.

Karol Cheng
Rockville, Md.

''Offshore funds: Asia is back'' (International Finance, May 3) (int'l edition)

Due to an error in data supplied by Standard & Poor's Micropal for a table in ''Offshore funds: Asia is back'' (International Finance, May 3), performance data for Skandifond Continental Euro Equity Fund were incorrect. For the first quarter of 1999, the fund had a total return of -8.92%. For the year ended Mar. 31, the fund returned -2.51%, and for the five years ended Mar. 31, the return was 13.71%. Also, on Jan. 1, the fund was redenominated from U.S. dollars to euros.