China’s Rapid Rise to Global-Power Status

' China Now ' : Readers eyed China's new superpower status warily. One said, "China's peaceful integration into a stable and cooperative global community remains a work in progress and open to question." And a self-described "overseas Chinese" had doubts about whether China could ever challenge U.S. military supremacy. "Yes, China is rising, but it takes more than just a few missiles, a few nuclear warheads and a million soldiers to be really aggressive on the global stage."

On ' Big Ideas, Bright Stars ' : "Michelle Rhee is doing exactly what students need, not just in D.C. but in many inner-city public schools. If we don't demand more from supervisors and teachers, how can we demand more from students?"
Darian Weaver, Freeport, N.Y.

A Changing China
In "Mao To Now" (Dec. 31/Jan. 7), Melinda Liu paints a masterful picture of China, but what isn't said is as telling as what is. The amorality with which China has pursued development and its callous indifference to human rights has had deleterious effects across China and around the world. China is a principal obstacle to a solution that could end the genocide in Darfur and an impediment to preventing Iran's genocidal mullahs from acquiring nuclear weapons. It's great that millions of Chinese are making money, but money isn't everything.
Alexander Chester
Cambridge, Mass.

In "The Rise of a Fierce Yet Fragile Superpower" (Dec. 31/Jan. 7), Fareed Zakaria cites China's overwhelming economic growth, yet decentralization is becoming more of an issue. This lateral relationship between the provinces and the central government is preventing China from reaching its full potential. It needs to make an effort to reverse this process and establish a more authoritative relationship if it wants to move up the global totem pole. With luck, the upcoming Olympics will help create a stronger sense of national unity.
Aaron Rosenthal
New York, N.Y.

I lived in Shanghai for 43 years before immigrating to the United States in 1993. Melinda Liu's vivid descriptions of China in the '70s and '80s reminded me of my experience, and provided Americans with a greater understanding of China. However, the explanation of the term "sea turtles" isn't quite right. Liu describes "sea turtles" as those Chinese "migrat[ing] back and forth across the ocean." The Chinese words hai gui mean "overseas returned students" and are a pun for "sea turtles." In the late '90s, many Chinese students returned home to find jobs after the dotcom bubble burst in the United States.
William Shih
Hayward, Calif.

Illegal Immigrants and Cheap Labor
Jorge Bustamante's contention that "illegal immigration is a result of the demand for cheaper labor in the U.S." is a distortion of reality ("The View From Both Sides," Periscope, Dec. 31/Jan 7). Illegal immigrants did not originally come here to fill any need except their own. U.S. businesses capitalized on immigrants' financial needs and the fact that they can't demand fair wages. This makes even the substandard wages American businesses pay apparently worth breaking the law to obtain. Because U.S. businesses can't maintain profits without taking unfair advantage of illegal immigrants, a need exists, but this dependency (a more accurate term than "demand") on "cheaper labor" does not justify breaking the law. It is a crime the world over to cross into a country and take up residence without that country's permission.
Monty Martin
Calimesa, Calif.