I REFER to the letter written by Jonathan Gray, which appeared in the South China Morning Post, on January 25. Mr Gray referred to human rights abuse and the thousands of condemned prisoners awaiting execution in the US. However, in the US, it is the law and virtually all the prisoners awaiting the death penalty have got themselves there by their own actions. As for the US's relations with trading partners be it China, Japan, or any other country in the world, there is something called the balance of trade. The US simply asks for the other countries to be fair. It's not a one-way street, Jonathan Gray. China has every right to and should upgrade its military hardware, but not sell what the US sells to it to other countries. As we all know, all wars are senseless. We must, however, protect democracy as we did in the two world wars. Mr Gray did not mention anything that made sense nor did he look at an over-all picture. Nor did he thank the US for helping save Europe, Asia and the Pacific, just to name a few. We also flew countless tonnes of supplies from Burma into China during World War II to help the people of China. Nor did Mr Gray, in his apparent hatred of the US, mention all the aid such as money, food, clothing, medical supplies and the list goes on, that the US has so generously contributed over the many years. I shall admit that we made a deafening mistake in Vietnam. We really should have learned from what happened to the French. China has come into the 20th century and, as its people are educated and as they learn, they will do quite well and be a superpower in just about every respect. It takes time and patience. Jonathan Gray has his opinion, although I feel the one he expressed in this letter was a bit biased. Perhaps he just didn't think about the content before he wrote. Whether or not that is the case, he at least can write his opinions without getting arrested and sent to prison. That's what democracy is all about, isn't? BILL MONTGOMERY Kowloon