In her March 13 column “A firsthand look at communist China” Ariel Ringlein talked about her experience when she taught English in China. She described the poor conditions of traffic, buildings and schools in the town where she stayed for several days. In her view the Chinese people could not move about freely in China.

We believe that what Ringlein wrote is her eyewitness account of China. However, it is only her several day experience in a small part of China, not a representation of China as a whole. China is the largest developing country in the world and it does have some problems, such as a huge population, rural development, environment protection, social welfare and public education, among others. But the nation is working hard and increasingly making progress. For example, the Chinese government invests a large amount of money in building college campuses and developing highly technical equipment, especially in rural areas. There are thousands of high schools equipped with computer labs, libraries and recreation centers.

In addition, the restriction on moving from place to place is not a reality in China. Actually, Chinese people have the right to choose the city they want to live in if they can find a job.

The only thing they need to do is register at the local government office when arriving at that city. Then they can get permission to get a job legally. China has the same situation as many developing countries; there will be some crimes on the rise, such as robbery, if thousands of people stay in a city without jobs. It is necessary for the local government to regulate some rules in order keep the city in good order.

We would like to emphasize Ringlein’s experience could not represent the whole reality in current China.

She said at the end of her article that she “gained a deeper sympathy and understanding for the refugees that come to our country.” We disagree with that completely. What are “refugees?” How about the students who come here to pursue degrees and are achieving more and more successes? Can we call them “refugees?” It seems ridiculous.

With the development of globalization, more and more people are moving in the world. There is much explanation for it. It cannot be simply said that the United States is the best choice for everyone living in the world.

Xiaoli Zhang

Graduate student

Molecular, cellular and developmental biology

Xiaoxi Li

Graduate student

Statistics

Weihong Guo

Graduate student

Public administration

Xiaoying Zhang

Graduate student

Immunobiology

Huiying Liu

Graduate student

Plant physiology

Jin Long

Graduate student

Molecular, cellular and developmental biology