EU Disappoints Some Readers With Response to China

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If the Slovenian presidency of the EU bends to Chinese political pressure, then democracy has been struck a deadly blow. The decision to invite the Tibetan head of state, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, must be made with openness in mind, not political pressures. So in effect China has used its political power to again snuff out democracy and that is a crying shame.

What I suspect here is that Slovenia has some links with China, but be they political or trade they must not interfere with the practice of open democracy in Europe. So Slovenia must know why it used its EU presidency as a means to further its own position with China. The EU must make clear to Slovenia that it is not a forum of deceit. Case closed. -- Kenneth V. Tellis, Canada

One reader recommended sanctions on Chinese products

Yes, as Europeans believing in human rights there should be sanctions against China. As producers ourselves, there should be sanctions against China. Many western goods are counterfeit and made in China but sold illegally in Europe regardless of copyright and patent; many products that are taken in the mouth (toothpaste, etc,) have been found to contain unfit ingredients; many well-known toy brands that we buy for our children that are made in China have toxic ingredients, and many people, such as prisoners, are forced to work as slaves to create the great Chinese economic progress.

But the big multi-nationals have made sure we don't have much choice in buying products that are not made in China. They made sure they closed down their European factories and opened them up in China where life and labor is cheap and their greed insures they get the best profit. Anyone know where you can still buy toys that are not made in China? I will be your first customer. -- Kaye Poole, Britain

So far, the British and Germans are not the focus. China likes to target the betrayer and the frontier, namely France and the US. And so far the WASP has succeeded in uniting the Catholics, and showing the Chinese that the Frenchmen are nothing better. Let's see the reaction of the Germans, and see how the Anglo can work with the Saxons as it unfolds. China's dream has definitely been interrupted. REM period is gone -- a step closer to be awakened. Remember what Napoleon said about a sleeping lion? -- Berg McFly, China

It is unfortunate that China can browbeat the European Union on the basis of the economic leverage it enjoys today vis-a-vis Europe. That the EU chooses to remain a mute spectator on the Tibet crackdown and refrain from officially recognizing the Dalai Lama amounts to lending credibility to the religious persecution of Christians sponsored by the atheist regime in Beijing.

Do we assume that the rich European tradition of promoting democratic values and peaceful coexistence is fading day by day? How else can the European Union presidency ignore the reality of 46 Christians being arrested for holding a Bible class and worshiping in a private home without government permission? Perhaps it is time that the European citizens decide whether or not to support a tyrannical regime that does not even believe in granting the Christians, Muslims and Tibetan Buddhist minorities the right and freedom to quietly express their faith. -- Seema Sengupta, India

I think the EU should send a large fact-finding mission to Tibet to see the real situation without Chinese officials and spies with them then to decide it. Tibetans should have freedom to use their own language and live according to their own style. Tibet has its own language, culture and customs. Chinese leaders in Tibet don't know them and can't even speak Tibetan. -- Tsering, China