China Rising

China Rising
Re “Make Way for China” [Oct. 21]: Asia pivot or not, Washington has killed its own policy before it could be started. The U.S. invited its own problem with the unceremonious shutdown that coerced President Obama to stay away from the crucial summits in Bali and Brunei. On the contrary, China exerted its presence in full force, with President Xi Jinping in Bali and Premier Li Keqiang in Brunei. Indubitably, Beijing is trying hard to fill the partial vacuum left by Washington in Southeast Asia, stretching its formidable tentacles far and wide. After all, China is already taking a firm stand and no-nonsense attitude in the South China Sea islets disputes.
Titan Monn,
Bangkok

Instead of painting the Chinese leadership of Asia in a bad light, the Western world should embrace the change. The U.S. is an awesome country, but who is holding the foundations? China. The world should be led by those who can afford to lead. If the world supports the new leadership of China, gives the country the stage that it deserves, then no doubt China will show us that Chinese socialism isn’t that bad; the human rights and things we want to see adopted may well be.
Simon Williams,
Seosan, South Korea

This Land Is Our Land
Re “The Long Wait” [Oct. 21]: The Israelis have given up most of the West Bank for peace, have retreated from Lebanon for peace, have given back Sinai for peace and — may I remind you — have come out of Gaza for peace. Now you would have us give up Jerusalem for peace? Oh, I know, why don’t we give up the state of Israel? Be very sure of one thing: we have no intention of committing our people to another Holocaust. Live with it!
Ronald Savage,
Haifa, Israel

Global Mayor
Re “Bloomberg Unbound” [Oct. 21]: I don’t think New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg should focus on improving Europe while Africa is crumbling. He desperately needs to come to South Africa to help those in authority resurrect broken-down democracy and governance, a failing economy and perhaps even what remains of Nelson Mandela’s legacy.
Mike Meiring,
Johannesburg

This article praises American billionaires’ philanthropy and compares it with Europe’s seeming lack. Our population does not consist of billionaires only, though they might make a nice story. While reading this, what equally strikes me is the enormous volunteer work of ordinary people in Europe, despite all the economic hardships they are going through. For instance, there are more than 120 organizations of volunteers in Germany working for Nepal. They dedicate their spare time, energy and money to underprivileged people or urgent causes in remote places in distant countries.
Arne Drews,
Grimma, Germany

Two-Party Dysfunction
Re “Gridlock-Economy Blues” [Oct. 21]: Describing the political system as “dysfunctional” may be correct as far as the U.S. is concerned, but it is certainly not a correct description for Europe. Some European governments may not be very efficient, but none of them have been shut down lately. All the West European countries have political systems that consist of several parties, which had to learn to compromise and work together in coalitions in order to get things done. A two-party system like the system in the U.S. is bound to fail sooner or later, as recent events there have shown.
Alexander Schneider,
Brixlegg, Austria