by Anatoly O. 04.09.2001
US owes an apology to the people of China for letting Chinese Communists take over in 1949. But really, what the people of China want, is for the American government to distinguish the Chinese government from people of China. The people of China do not want the US to bomb bridges and factories in China, like they did in Serbia. The people of China do not want the US to punish the Chinese after the standoff between the governments will be resolved. The Chinese people do not want the US to betray Taiwan, like they betrayed South Vietnam.
The People's Republic of China existed for 50 years, not 50 centuries. Liberation Army troops entered the Korean War against United Nations forces in October 1950 and dispatched troops to Tibet at about the same time. The People's Republic of China had military conflicts with India, Vietnam, and Russia. But the people of China suffered most from the Communist regime.
Recently, the US government found a common ground with the Chinese government, but not with the people of China. Streets were packed with rock-throwing protesters inflamed by the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade two years ago.
People of China hope, that US will help them to expand the economic freedom and to develop the political freedom.
The Chinese government will hold 24 Americans as long as they can. Hostages are their only trump card. Also, the Chinese need time to scrutinize the plane. The test of the Bush administration's skill will be not to get the crew members back soon, but to stop the sale of technology to China, which modernizes their military, and convince the West Europe and Russia to do the same.