Dear Mr. President Nelson Mandela,

About the reports of newspaper in May 6, 1999; South African President Nelson Mandela Stressed China's importance to economic growth in Africa, but made no appeals for democracy in a speech at the Peking University that spearheaded democracy demonstrations a decade ago.

However; Mandela said "Our freedom will remain fragile and our right empty shells if millions of South Africans continue to be cursed by that legacy of homelessness ill health and illiteracy," he said. Mandela's careful comments were in contrast to President Bill Clinton's speech at the same school last June when he stressed the importance of human rights and freedom and said China's leaders had nothing to fear from a more open society. Mandela also condemned mass attacks by Serbs in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo and NATO's air strikes in response.

In our view; China was an early supporter of the anti-apartheid movement in South African; but on the contrary; China's entirely state-controlled news media generally have not reported accounted by refugees from Kosovo about mass killings and expulsions blamed on the Serbs. Mandela had told the students of Peking University with honesty. We are praising President Nelson Mandela's style.