Nuclear talks

I would like to applaud the resumption of the Korean Peninsula nuclear talks as they bring the dawn of hope to a peaceful settlement to this issue.

Peace on the peninsula is in line with the interests of all sides. However, the related parties should show more sincerity rather than empty discourse because peace would not be made without tangible action.

I wish the Six-Party Talks in Beijing success.

Tuckson Smith

Via e-mail

Family values

This is the Chinese Spring Festival, when Chinese families gather together, as they have for thousands of years. For most of this time they have held that having large families is a central goal in life.

For an outsider it is amazing and truly admirable how the Chinese have been able to face reality and engage in family planning, switching quantity for quality.

Now that China is opening to the world and gaining so much from Western technology, it would be wise to avoid some of the poison in that package. In the West, children eat warmed-up frozen food alone in front of the TV, sometimes not sure who their true parents are.

Science has contributed little to curing this mess. It has mostly been devoted to revealing where the areas of nervous stimulation are located. Couples grope for novelty, or new partners to relieve boredom. Is there no bond to hold families together beyond lust?

Of course there is. It is called love. We hear much about love in romantic novels and poetry, but it is not a fictional fantasy. It is an objective reality.

How can our youth be instructed, conditioned to develop such a life?

Cornelius J Loeser

Via e-mail

That Alfa feeling

I was particularly struck by James Leung's column "One man's ode to a long-gone Alfa Romeo" (China Daily, February 6), not just because I work for the group which is proud to produce Alfa Romeo cars, but more because I have been an "Alfist" since my very early driving experiences, when I was almost a child. I can thoroughly share the deep emotion of Alfa Romeo driving which the author described so vividly.

I probably was luckier than him, because with not one of my old Alfas (Duetto 1.6, Alfetta 2.0, 156 1.8) did I meet the troubles he told about in the story.

But I do admit that old Alfas concentrated more resources on mechanical performance, drivability and feeling than on comfort. And like beautiful women, a bit of imperfection is part of their beauty.

It's a pity that he hasn't driven an Alfa Romeo for so many years. I can assure him, today's Alfa Romeo cars are still "perky", but absolutely no longer "erratic". We do build them better and safer than in the past, as do many other car manufacturers today.

But besides modern comfort and no-compromise quality, besides the increasing necessity in sport cars (including F1) for electronic bridges between the (limited) human capabilities and the (incredibly high) car performance, we never will "computerize the fun factor", neither will we renounce the passion of Alfa driving.

Franco Amadei, chairman of Fiat (China) Business Co Ltd

Via e-mail

Bad sportsmanship

Comment on the story "Soccer brawl put Olympic team's England trip to shame" (China Daily, February 8)

It seems our national Olympic soccer team members have a rather low threshold of mental stability when they are not in command of the game. I don't blame them, being young and inadequately educated and what not. Their coaches, managers and government officials in charge of sports affairs, with the touring team or back home, are solely responsible for their side of the moral state.

I'm truly amazed at how ineffective the educational efforts have been in nurturing proper sportsmanship these days. It's high time the sports officials and researchers in sports ethics really found out why.

Jim

On China Daily website

Dumping in China

With reference to the China Daily article of January 18 "Village tired of foreign garbage", it is regrettable that the Maersk Line container vessel Emma Maersk is singled out as carrying garbage from Europe to China.

Maersk Line will never willfully engage in the transport of cargo banned in China, such as garbage. Based on the information provided by the shippers and consignees, we have not facilitated the import of cargo that is not allowed by international or Chinese import regulations. Should authorities suspect any wrongdoing, we are committed to cooperate fully with investigations.

Emma Maersk is pioneering new technologies developed with the specific aim of reducing the impact on the environment. For example, environmentally friendly silicone paint covers the hull of the vessel below the waterline - reducing water resistance and cutting the vessel's fuel consumption by 1,200 tons per year.

Julia Xiao

Via e-mail

(China Daily 02/13/2007 page11)