Company Not Trying To Americanize China

My company, Encore International, was featured in “Tuned In to China’s TV Future” [Oct. 14]. I feel compelled to write to you as this article presented the antithesis of our goals regarding our approach to China.

My father and I started Encore International with both economic and cultural objectives. My father is Chinese American, born in Shanghai, and I have undergraduate and graduate degrees in Chinese studies and have worked and studied in China. We are proud of our Chinese American heritage.

However, the article portrays my father as someone with questionable political objectives--indeed an agenda to Americanize China.

The truth is just the opposite. Our program exchange is as much about enlightening Americans about China as it is China about America. We have taken strides to accomplish this through program exchanges with China Central Television CCTV.

The article also incorrectly indicates that we supply only American programming to CCTV, when we source programming from around the world.

We do appreciate the time your reporter took to research this complicated story. Nevertheless, I do want to set the record straight that in no way does our work in China reflect any sort of agenda in Americanizing that country.

Michelle Sie Whitten

President, Encore International Englewood, Colo.