Olympic Bids

* In response to “Sydney Is Chosen for 2000 Olympics,” Sept. 24:

While your paper took the time to report the growing discontent among the young, bright and sensitive university students in China, your articles didn’t go far enough. These are the very same students who, enamored with American democracy, spearheaded the protest against the Beijing government in 1989. Now they look toward the United States with disbelief, a feeling of betrayal and anger.

Unquestionably, they feel that if Beijing had won, it would have been a great opportunity for significant change toward a more open China, not only for university elitists, but for the impoverished people, who live in conditions far worse than can be imagined.

China is a developing nation. To be seen as non-hypocritical, its human-rights activists ought to actively pursue the British for their historical horrendous “takeover” of the Australian Aborigines and the present-day treatment of Australia’s Asian citizens.

IRENE KIM

Rancho Palos Verdes

* In your Olympics articles, several references were made in citing the selection of Sydney over Beijing as a gold-medal day for the athletes, but that Beijing was the choice of the politicians.

I personally think that all these interjections of politics into sports is a sad chapter. Rather than our Congress trying to influence Olympics site selections or other nations boycotting the games, may I suggest that the IOC create a special non-nationality entry so that athletes could compete without national representation and at the same time still win their medals and set world records.

JOHN CHOY

Torrance