Madam, - Mr Lavery's claims that "nobody was killed in Tiananmen Square on the night in question" (Letters, April 2nd) is erroneous nonsense.
The majority of deaths may well have occurred in areas other than the square itself, and there were also other demonstrators apart from those gathered in the square, but the evidence is there that demonstrators were shot and killed that night, both in the square itself and in the areas surrounding.
I refer him to reputable sources such as the BBC, Time magazine, Amnesty International and the Chinese Red Cross. Reporters such as Jonathan Mirsky, then the China Correspondent for the London Observer, Nicholas D Kristof of the New York Times, Toronto Globe and Mail's China reporter Jan Wong and Cathy Sampson of the Times all of whom saw demonstrators being shot by soldiers. Wong and Sampson were able to see what happened from the balcony of their hotel which looks into the square. Read Red China Blues: My Long March from Mao to Now which includes Jan Wong's eyewitness account of what happened. - Yours, etc,
EANNA Mac CRAITH Einstienweg, Leiden, Netherlands.
Madam, - All fair-minded people will reject the Chinese government's misrepresentation of the views of the Dalai Lama.
He has not called for the independence of Tibet or the cancellation of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
What he has called for is the cultural autonomy of Tibet and in particular respect for its Buddhist culture.
Having visited Tibet and in particular Lhasa, it is obvious to me that the Tibetans are treated as second-class citizens in their own country.
This sense of alienation is what is behind the recent riots. - Yours, etc,
ROBERT McCARTHY, Dean of St Patrick's, St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.
Madam, - Having lived in Ireland and read The Irish Times for five years, I feel obliged to tell you some truths about China as a Chinese. It is shocking to see how biased the media are here and most importantly how much damage the media here have done to China and the Chinese government. It is understandable that the United States is doing this sort of tricks because China is in the way of its ambition to manipulate the world. But the Irish media don't need to do the same. All the Irish people I have met deeply believe Chinese people live miserably under dictatorship. There is no way they will believe what I say about a real China because they have been brainwashed by the media with varied political agendas for decades.
Certainly the Chinese government is not perfect. However, this government is the best one Chinese people can have. It has been working hard to bring stability and prosperity to the Chinese people, who had suffered wars, social unrest and poverty in the last two centuries. The crackdown in Tibet is like what any government would do in order to put violence and destruction under control.
This government is learning how to be democratic, certainly not the democracy promoted by some western media. Some journalists might believe in Tibetan independence; some might believe in anti-communism; but how many of them really talked to the majority of Chinese and Tibetans? What most Chinese people want now is a more stable and wealthier life style and getting to know the world. The Chinese government is working towards this goal.
An honest and non-biased media could help the Chinese government improve its system. Sadly the western media are losing this power by being too "anti-Chinese". People here are comfortable with the old impression they hold against China, and the journalists just keep feeding them what they feel most comfortable with. - Yours, etc,
LILY CHEN, Termonfeckin, Co Louth.