Incomes in Taiwan In the article “Why Anger The Dragon?” (March 24), you state that Taiwan’s incomes have been stagnant and inflation has been on the rise during the Democratic Progressive Party’s era. This deserves a reality check. Taiwan’s per capita GDP has grown from US$13,093 in 2001 to an estimated $18,042 in 2008. That is a 38 percent increase. Since the DPP came to power in May 2000, inflation has been well capped at 2 percent, averaging less than 1 percent from 2001 to 2007. Perceptions are often misleading, but economic statistics come in handy for substantiation. Rong-I Wu CHAIRMAN, Taiwan Stock Exchange Taipei, Taiwan
Forget José Bové! As a subscriber to your European Edition, I find that your cover stories are often not about issues that are discussed in the general news scene. The cover story “Where Is José Bové?” (March 24) is a good example. Even though there is a big economic crisis all over the world (in the aftermath of the Bear Stearns crash), turmoil in Tibet and even many headline stories out of the United States (Eliot Spitzer’s affair, Barack Obama’s pastor), you are focusing on a topic that seems totally out of scope at this time. Thomas Moller Via Internet
It is true, as explained in your article, that many European farmers are adapting to the latest local and foreign market trends, as farmers have always done. But putting José Bové on your March 24 cover is giving him far too much credit. In my own and in other farming communities that I know throughout Europe, he just does not belong. Bruno van de Walle Traimont, Belgium
Regarding your article about Europe’s farmers and their embrace of market forces, I agree that there is a new wave of entrepreneurial spirit among farmers. I’d like to point out that Spanish farmers are included in this wave and are rising to meet the demands of consumers, resulting in more-sustainable farming practices. In the Spanish region of Andalusia, which is one of Europe’s biggest exporters of fresh produce, Hortyfruta represents 20,000 farmers who have come together to rapidly adopt “clean farming” methods, which introduce indigenous insects to an area to combat insect plagues that damage crops instead of using pesticides. The result is higher yields and superior-quality produce that is healthier for consumers and better for the environment. This would not be possible without the effort of the Hortyfruta members: producers, traders and unions; and also, in the initial phase, the support of regional government funding that permits the rapid adoption of competitive practices and sustainable farming methods. Maria Jose Pardo Losilla General Manager, Hortyfruta Almeria, Spain
Racial Politics in Malaysia Your article about Malaysia’s recent political development was interesting (“Back in the Light,” March 24). Having lived in Malaysia, my observations about racial discrimination or racial tension in that country are different from the one your writers gave. Malaysia’s racial politics are unique. Its tolerant, forward-looking, modern society makes the country a favorite place of tourists in Asia. Of course, there are underprivileged people in Malaysia as anywhere else in the world. But the three main races—Malays, Chinese and Indians—have many commonalities even though they speak different languages and practice different religions. Everyone speaks Bahasa Malaysia and, informally, Manglish (Malaysian English). Everyone is food-savvy and, as for politics, people rejected the current ruling party and elected the opposition in some states. But it is still too early to say whether the newly elected governments, which usually sit in the opposition, will deliver what Malaysians really want. Suresh Kumar Parappurath Bangalore, India
Many factors caused the drastic swing of votes to the opposition in Malaysia’s elections. If any single heavyweight contributor to the reversal of voters’ sentiment is to be picked, I would say it is the Information and Communication Technology, the Internet and SMS technology. Scandalous or ignominious matters that would normally be surreptitiously covered up by the government- controlled mass media can now easily be transmitted or made open to the public via ICT. It saddens me to notice that within a few days after the general election, we were already witnessing post-election power plays and the grabbing of lucrative positions among the euphoric winners. This certainly does not help build a truly Malaysian Malaysia; it bodes poorly for the future of the nation. Moreover, the prompting of street protests, this time from the ruling party, was uncannily fast in surfacing. I have strong reservations regarding the manifesto and the purportedly collaborative effort of the opposition to sincerely build a harmonious society where every citizen is treated equally. As with the ruling National Front (BN) coalition, power struggles will become the norm, and ethnic issues will most likely continue to prevail. Power is so sweet that whoever tastes it wants more. I believe that an overly powerful government would decay under its own weight of endless and shameless corruption and cronyism. This happened before, is happening now, and will, I’m sure, happen again. Ibrahim Musa Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
New Research on Autism Although I fully agree with your writers that “science is the way we’ll get there” to understanding autism, I believe that not enough attention was given to scientific developments more recent than the “vaccine furor” in the article “Mysteries and Complications” (March 24). For instance, many recent scientific findings (in top journals like Nature Genetics) implicate genes involved in neuronal synapse generation, and this represents an important advance that I believe should have been highlighted. That autism spans such a broad spectrum of severity probably relates to the diversity of genetic defects that can give rise to this condition. I do not think that comparing autism with Down syndrome with regard to genetic screening and being “selected out of the population” is entirely valid, because unlike autism, Down syndrome has a simpler genetic basis and a more uniform manifestation. Certainly I do not think it likely that future Lewis Carrolls and Albert Einsteins will be rooted out of the population by genetic screening. Benedict Yan Singapore
I read Claudia Kalb’s article on autism with interest. I think it addresses fairly well all the complexities of the issue. I am writing about the accompanying graph, however. It aims to show that NIH funding wrongly corresponds to the number of cases of a given disease. But the use of a mixed (bar and circles) graph is potentially misleading, since the size of the circles is determined by the radius (cases in millions), whereas the cognitive perception of readers is related to the area of the circles. So, differences in funding are exacerbated (by a factor of 3.14 and a square). Were the circles to be drawn so that their area is proportional to the number of cases, comparisons between fund allocation would be less striking. I know this is a technicality, but it is worth noting, especially considering the very high caliber of science reporting in NEWSWEEK. Vincenzo Guardabasso,M.D. Via Internet
Promoting Ivory? I was disturbed to see you promoting chess pieces made from woolly-mammoth ivory (THE GOOD LIFE, March 10) in the same issue as the article “Extinction Trade.” Your photograph of the chess set will create a demand for elephant ivory. We all have a duty to try our best to stop the killing. Eva Maimstrom Shivdasani Bangkok, Thailand
