ear Editor:
As a reader whose family has lived there for generations, I was happy to see the detailed article in last month's issue on Shetzu Island, which is rarely reported on. The article mentioned the government's program, still in planning, to develop the island, and I have a few points that I'd like to bring up in that regard. Basically, the residents of Shetzu aren't asking very much of the plan--we just hope that Shetzu will remain the greenest spot in Taipei after it's developed and that work on easing the traffic, fixing the roads and cracking down on illegal factories will continue while the plan is in paperwork. We don't want to miss out on current construction in chasing after something that may come about a dozen or more years from now.
Hsiao Shu-ching Taipei
Dear Editor:
I came across Sinorama Magazine for the first time this week and was very much impressed with the style, quality, photos and layout of the first bilingual magazine from the Republic of China I have ever read.
I was especially interested in the special feature on your navy. All three articles were top-rate. The navy's plan for the future, the missile boats and especially the article on the day in the life of a destroyer captain found my interest. I like his statements on leadership and I especially like the photo on page 87 with the captain and his crew--what a shot.
As a German naval officer, serving for some three years in the United States, I am familiar with naval issues in general, but these articles increased my knowledge of the emerging navy in your country.
Not only the navy stories, but all the other articles deepened the picture that we have of your country, which we hopefully will be able to visit sometime in the near future.
Hartmut H.F. Spieler Captain, German Navy
Dear Editor:
I never realized that the cold architecture around us actually had so many stories to tell until I read last issue's cover story, "Faces in Time--Eighty Years of Architecture in Taiwan." It was a real eye-opener.
I have one question though: Is there a mistake in the captions? It seems to me that the World Trade Center wasn't built very long ago, but the text says 1976. [page 17]
Lin Chia-chen Taipei
Editor's Response: The date for each building is the year when construction began, which for the World Trade Center was indeed 1976.