Editor,
I graduated from UNM 1999 with a bachelor's degree in Asian Studies. I have been living and working in the People's Republic of China for about two years in the northeastern port of Dalian.
After my experience here in China and after reflecting upon some of the common American attitudes towards China, I strongly feel that many Americans and other Westerners misunderstand China. This misunderstanding is based upon a combination of factors: negative portrayal by the American media, propaganda created by the anti-China elements, lack of understanding Chinese culture, the stigma of certain past historical events, negative bias towards China's political system and the list goes on.
First of all, I would like to state that the recent Falun Gong cult demonstration in Tiananmen Square by American and other Western cult followers was a blatant act of disrespect towards the country in which they were guests. When you are a guest in another country, you should respect that country's rules of conduct.
The Western clowns in Tiananmen Square the other day were the laughing stock of China. Most Chinese people, including my friends and workmates, feel that those Western demonstrators were idiots who didn't know what the hell they were doing. They also probably didn't understand the true nature of the Falun Gong cult.
The truth about the Falun Gong cult is that it had created a large toll of suffering in China, a truth that is not revealed by the American media, which portrays it as a legitimate religious movement.
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You can't possibly know the truth about China until you actually come here, live here for a while and interact with the people. I will never forget the image last year of the young Chinese teenage girl in a Beijing hospital, wrapped in a caste after being fooled by the cult to burn herself in Tiananmen Square. She later died from complications related to her severe burns.
Like the al Qaeda terrorist organization, which committed acts of terror against innocent Americans, the Falun Gong cult is against the basic principles of human civilization by conducting acts of terror in China. The cult is responsible for several deaths, injuries, mental illnesses and instigating acts against social stability.
Both al Qaeda and Falun Gong create terror to support their ideological and religious aims, and both organizations should be harshly opposed by the world community.
Falun Gong's crackpot leader, Li Hongzhi, continues to live comfortably in New York off his fortune, which was amassed through donations from the poor people in China who were duped into following the cult. Not only is Li Hongzhi like a corrupt television evangelist, he is in fact a terrorist.
For America to harbor Li Hongzhi and his Falun Gong cult is to practice double standards in the global fight against terrorism. Just as the United States demanded that the Taliban hand over Osama bin Laden, the United States should also hand over Li Hongzhi to the Chinese authorities to face justice. In this new era, the old Cold War mentality is outdated and Sino-American strategic cooperation is in the best interests of the two countries and of the world.
Keith L. Hammar
UNM alumnus living in Dalian, China
