[Letter to the editor]A different view on China

This is in response to the opinion article titled “China changing from within,” (Aug. 30).
Jin Se-keun wrote about how the internal system of China’s government is making it so that the citizens have more of a say in the quality of life that they lead.
However, people need to realize this is merely rhetoric and window-dressing. The reality is that China is still a despotic dictatorship that imprisons citizens for speaking out; they censor the news to put a positive image on its policies even though they’re responsible for the deaths of thousands, and they continue to persecute religious groups they see as a threat.
They also continue to build up their military capabilities, posing a threat to China’s neighbors, including South Korea, and they continue to support Kim Jong-il of North Korea, a tyrant of the worst kind. China’s rhetoric is, at best, self-deluding, and at worst, blatant lies. China’s economic prosperity has been built on the blood and bones of countless innocents. They continue to play the world game of trade unfairly and, as a result, have built up crippling trade surpluses that have caused unemployment and recessions within its “trade partners.”
The Red Chinese government is made up of hypocrites and butchers. South Koreans need to be reminded that China is still an enemy to the very freedom that their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents fought for so long and died to attain for them. South Korea’s only choice is clear: This country must prepare to defend its land and freedom from the red dragon that is the People’s Republic of China.
Thomas Raudenbush, Seoul