Mail Call

Tracking a Threat to Tibet

Several years ago I heard the Dalai Lama say that the biggest threat Tibet faced was the then proposed Beijing-Lhasa railroad ("Bound to the Tracks," July 17). I was thus shocked to read your piece on the completion of this railroad, with no mention of the cultural and political devastation this project will bring to the Tibetan people. Instead, your reporter gave a breathless rundown of all the wonderful economic benefits that would ensue from this Han Chinese invasion. Railroads undoubtedly opened up the American West to economic development. But what happened to the Native Americans? Please replace your reporter with someone who is less co-opted by the Chinese authorities.

Kip McKay

Kandy, Sri Lanka

You covered an important event: the opening up of the closed, mystical land of Tibet, and some of its economic implications. The political aspects of such a new connection to a country occupied since 1948, when the Red Army marched in, should not, however, be glossed over. If Soviet satellite countries can be freed after 70 years, why not Tibet too?

Gun Nidhi Dalmia