Sir, - Patrick Smyth (April 18th) underlined the fallacy of thinking that "trade with tyrants is good because the forces of commerce . . . will be forces for democracy". In 1992, the year of Deng Xiaoping's freemarket push, the Chinese CPC Central Propaganda Department instigated a campaign against "peaceful evolution", and the dangers of pluralism, multiparty democracy and intellectual influences held responsible for the collapse of the USSR.
Six dangers to CPC control were specified in the Propaganda Department documents: (1) western calls for democracy, freedom and human rights; (2) infiltration from Hong Kong and Taiwan; (3) hostile expatriot Chinese calling for pluralism and democracy; (4) reactionary elements within China; (5) religious activism; and (6) ethnic splittism. In its 50 years of power, the Chinese Communist regime has been responsible for more deaths, albeit mainly Chinese, than Stalin, Hitler and two world wars. The Great Leap Forward alone is now estimated to have caused up to 70 million deaths, the Cultural Revolution another 20 million.
On his visit to Dublin last year, Harry Wu pointed out that the CPC, having abandoned all pretence of communist ideology, is nothing more than a fascist totalitarian regime, intent on maintaining its own power. Now that its Russian border is secure, and Hong Kong in the bag, China will be free to draw the sabre it previously rattled at Taiwan. - Yours, etc.,
Tibet Support Group,
Ailesbury Road, Dublin 4.