To the Editor:

I have some comments on the letter to the editor “Atrocities in Tibet” in the Iowa State Daily, Oct. 27.

First, one may criticize the population control policy of the Chinese government, but I don’t agree that this policy is causing genocide in Tibet. Actually, any Chinese from the mainland knows that this policy controls Han people more harshly than minority people. Han people also complain about it, however, many educated Han people voluntarily have only one child or even have no children. This is more common in new generations of college students. It is also said that in Germany and the United States some young people are willing to choose no children.

My second comment is related to the first one. No policy can satisfy everyone, no matter what society it is in. People naturally have their own opinion about the policy, and debate is also no surprise, just as the debate about abortion is here. This is usually what different political parties try to utilize to reach their goals.

The last comment about the letter is that the deliberate and planned population transfer to Tibet by the Chinese government may not be true. I do know that Chinese government encourages college graduates to go to Tibet and serve for a certain period. But, the graduates are also encouraged to go to Mongolia, Xinjiang and other economically under-developed regions. I’ve never heard complaints from people living in these regions.

In addition, Chinese businessmen may go to Tibet goaded by profit instead of by the government. Most Chinese people, just like people in other parts of this world, want to stay where they are living or move to a better place if possible.

Weidong Jiang

Student

Atmospheric Science