To the editor:

County commissioners recently took no action on funding a “sister county program” in China. Congratulations. I encourage the city commissioners to do likewise.

The Dalai Lama: “Compassion is not religious business, it is human business, it is not luxury, it is essential for our own peace and mental stability, it is essential for human survival.”

A recent panel of individuals from the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce, the Center of East Asian Studies at Kansas University and the Kansas State Extension office in Douglas County were all lobbying the Douglas County commissioners along with retired KU professor Cal Downs for a sister county program in China.

The motivations expressed mostly emphasized economic interests.

Considering the ongoing genocide of Tibetans by China now in its 54th year, how do our local officials square this truth of the destruction of China with regard to its neighbors?

Sven Erik Alstrom,

Lawrence