Sir, - While I know that diplomacy demands that our political. establishment pay tribute on the event of the passing away of a head of state, let us not forget that Deng Xiaoping was no benevolent leader. Everybody remembers the atrocity of Tiananmen Square, and rightly so. However, the greatest crime that Mr Deng committed was the treatment of Chinese infants. The appalling practices inflicted upon these children took place because Mr Deng either approved of them, or didn't care enough to do something about them.
Insult was added to injury by the bureaucracy, which makes adopting these poor souls so difficult. I hope our politicians remember this when extending our nation's sympathy to the Chinese people. While I sympathise with those Chinese who feel a sense of loss, I do not think that the world has been made a poorer place by the demise of Mr Deng. - Yours, etc.,
Rosehill,
Wicklow Town.