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Cato Daily Dispatch for February 22, 2002

Bush: U.S. Should Be Example for China

President Bush urged China on today to embrace religious freedom and political dissent, offering the United States as a model and worrying that people in this vast land "do not always see a clear picture of my country," according to the Associated Press.

Standing before students at Tsinghua University, Bush was challenged on U.S. policy toward Taiwan, missile defense plans, and crime in America. The appearance was broadcast live on Chinese state television.

"Life in America shows that liberty, paired with law, is not to be feared," Bush said. "In a free society, diversity is not disorder. Debate is not strife. And dissent is not revolution."

After politely applauding his address, dozens of hands shot up and students asked Bush tough questions. One student complained that Bush wasn't giving a clear answer on the island of Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory. "It's a pity," she said.

"This seems to be a topic on people's minds, obviously," Bush said. "I am anxious that there be a peaceful resolution. ... I hope it happens in my lifetime. And I hope it happens in yours. It'll be an important milestone."

Speaking in Shanghai five years ago, Cato President Edward H. Crane said that "as world trade develops, as the peoples of the globe get to know one another, to appreciate the traditions of other cultures, to form communities through the Internet and other means that transcend mere political boundaries, they will develop a growing distrust of and disinterest in the pronouncements of the political class."

In "Taiwan: Not Worth War, But Well Worth Arming," Senior Fellow Doug Bandow writes that Taiwan has "earned the goodwill of Americans but not the blood of U.S. soldiers in a conflict. The U.S. should instead assist the Republic of China in developing a military capable of deterring aggression from across the strait."

In "Bush's Pledge to Defend Taiwan Goes Too Far," Ted Galen Carpenter wrote, "Washington should couple its arms sales to Taiwan with a firm statement that the United States will not become involved in any armed struggle between Taiwan and the PRC."

Bush Thanks Saudis for Cooperation

President Bush has praised Saudi Arabia's cooperation in combating terrorist groups whose aim, he said, was to drive a wedge between the two allies, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported today, according to Reuters.

U.S.-Saudi relations have been in the spotlight since the September 11 suicide plane attacks. Washington blamed Saudi-born dissident Osama bin Laden for the attacks and said 15 of the 19 hijackers who crashed jets into the Pentagon and World Trade Center were Saudis.

"Allow me to express to you once again my appreciation for the support your government extended since September 11 within our joint war against terrorist powers which seek to divide us," the Arabic-language SPA quoted Bush as saying in a letter to King Fahd.

Bush sent the letter to mark the Eid al-Adha Muslim holiday.

In "Quit Turning the Other Cheek with Saudi Arabia," Jerry Taylor and Ted Galen Carpenter write that "the common wisdom is that we must turn the other cheek and stay on friendly terms with the Saudi autocrats because we need their oil. Nonsense. They need our money more than we need their oil. Repeat after us: 'There is no "oil weapon."'"

In "Get Out of Saudi Arabia," Ivan Eland recommends that "the United States should quietly withdraw its military forces from Saudi Arabia. That's not appeasing radical Islamists. It's a common sense way to remove a lightning rod for future terrorism."

No Evidence of Biotech Danger Prompts Tougher Monitoring

There is no evidence that genetically engineered crops have harmed the environment, but the government should do a better job of monitoring crops after they are approved for commercial use, a National Academy of Sciences report concluded yesterday, according to The Washington Post.

The USDA, which requested the study after critics accused it of lax regulation, is supposed to ensure that hardier, gene-altered crops don't develop into superweeds or endanger insects and other animals.

In the Regulation Magazine article, "Food Risks and Labeling Controversies," Henry I. Miller and Peter VanDoren explore market-based alternatives to more government regulation of foods.

In "Taco Terrorism," Steven Milloy dismisses concerns that the genetically engineered corn is dangerous. He argues that some groups have created a scare from the "firm possibility of a definite maybe." The accused protein, CRY9C, "isn't derived from a source containing any known allergens, its protein sequence does not resemble other known allergens and none of the other biotech corn proteins are allergens," he writes.

Milloy is the author of the Cato book "Junk Science Judo: Self-Defense Against Health Scares and Scams."