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Letter to the Editor
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Sir--The United States has been engaged in the research and development of a so called National Missile Defense (NMD) System in recent years, under the excuse that some countries may still use missiles to attack the United States. The Bush Administration also gives the cold shoulder to the international opposition and has stressed his determination to continue research and experiments in this field.
Obviously, the United States still has a Cold War mentality and wants to establish a world order through military superiority, while weakening other countries' military power. The implementation of NMD has brought about great objections from not only the international community but from America's NATO allies, for it runs counter to world peace and stability, and will inevitably break the global military balance and hamper the nuclear disarmament process.
NMD, a blatant breach of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) treaty, is a direct threat to world nuclear disarmament. The United Nations General Assembly has passed two similar resolutions by an overwhelming majority over the past two years, calling for compliance with the AMB treaty. Such resolutions also indicate that most countries are unwilling to see setbacks to the international community's efforts to promote arms control, disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation after the Cold War.
NMD can never ensure world peace. Nor can it benefit the countries that adhere to Cold War thinking, for it will spark a new round of arms races around the globe. As the world's largest nuclear power, the United States should throw away its militaristic Cold War mentality. It must shoulder its full responsibility to safeguard world peace and development, halt the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and promote the disarmament process. It should strictly abide by the ABM treaty and give up the NMD plan as soon as possible.
Jack Lee, Beijing
Sir--I was excited after reading the news titled "First genome sequence published" on Page one of Shenzhen Daily on Feb 12 and the Special Report on Wednesday's Page five.
I have always been interested in biology. It was a big pity I missed the chance to get a master's degree in biology eight years ago. As a teacher, I always try to keep up with the most recent developments in this field and share the latest news of science with my students as well as enriching myself. Deciphering our genes will herald a new age in science and will have a great impact on humanity. I am convinced that we can all benefit from this discovery.
My students and I all feel proud of Chinese scientists. They did a great job in this field.
Jones Wang
SZ Foreign Languages School
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