Provide More Land to Let Wolves Run Free

The article ``The Dance to Coexist With Wolves,'' Dec. 6, misses the point. The Humane Society of the United States and other similar groups have long argued that wolves, as a species, have been persecuted by sportsmen seeking to kill for fun or to eliminate competition for moose, elk, deer, and caribou.

Such rhetoric is unfair to American hunters, who, as a group, are responsible for many of the wildlife success stories of the past 50 years. Most hunters, myself included, would love to see wolves regain ancestral territory.

Unfortunately, such large-scale reintroduction of this wildest of my fellow predators will never occur to any significant extent because, quite simply, Americans are unwilling to provide wolves with the space they require. Like the grizzly bear, wolves require hundreds of miles of free range if they are to thrive.

To provide such range, we as a people would first be obligated to curb our appetite for land and resources.

The second step would be to acknowledge that we, as a species, are too numerous and must therefore voluntarily reduce and reverse population growth. Americans barely put forth the effort to recycle a few cans and save a few acres from becoming strip malls. We would be hard pressed truly to coexist with wolves; therein lies the tragedy. Thomas M. Basch, Grand Rapids, Mich.

No hope for independence in Taiwan

I would like to respond to the letter ``Taiwan's Move Toward Independence,'' Dec. 13, since it is misleading to readers.

The author makes the erroneous claim that there is a ``growing visibility of the demand for formal independence'' on Taiwan. To the contrary, the past several elections all indicate that independence does not have majority support.

In the most recent election, on Dec. 3 for governor of Taiwan and mayors of Taipei and Kaohsiung cities, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) purposely downplayed its pro-independence stand, at least publicly, when it realized that it was losing support.

Unification, not independence, is a mutual cross-straits objective. We insist, however, that it will only occur under a free and democratic system of government, and under peaceful means.

Before unification, the Republic of China on Taiwan will continue to play an active role in the global community by participating in international organizations whenever possible.

Taiwan has the ability to make a positive and significant contribution to the international community based on its wealth of experience and knowledge, especially in the economic sector.

It would be foolish to jeopardize Taiwan's past accomplishments and future by declaring independence. After all, mainland China has never renounced its threat of the use of force against Taiwan. Eddy Tsai, Boston Director, Taiwan's Coordination Council for North American Affairs

Give Star Trek sequels a rest

In regard to the article ``How Well Do You Know Star Trek?'' Dec. 1, I feel that it is time for the sequels to end once and for all.

The movie ``Star Trek Generations'' is a repetition of the other six, in the sense that the Starship Enterprise wins and the evil aliens are vanquished.

But the movie is not to be trashed. I did get a little nap out of it. I left the theater with one thought on my mind - I should have seen Stargate for the third time. Star Trek was disjointed and hard to follow.

I did have some respect for the Star Trek sequels at one time, but enough is enough. It is time for them to take a bow and clear the way for new releases yet to come on the big screen. Giuseppe Piccinini, Wichita Falls, Texas