Letters: ‘What Lurks Beneath’

'What Lurks Beneath'
If Germany doesn't accept all new technologies, is it uncritically technophobic? Recent history is replete with innovations that later proved harmful.
Paula Szilard, Littleton, Colorado

The interesting thing about German technophobia is that it rests on pillars often diametrically opposed to each other. Pope Benedict rails against stem-cell research, and green fundamentalists thunder against genetically modified products and nuclear-power stations. Needn't scientific progress be measured against certain ethical checks and balances?
Werner Radtke, Paderborn, Germany

Stefan Theil castigates Germany for creating a pernicious climate for its pesticide manufacturers. Like to eat? Bees make much of our food possible, and -Bayer CropScience's insecticide clothianidin and its relatives—now banned in Germany—are suspected of playing a role in the collapse of bee colonies around the world. These nerve poisons are widely used, and are persistent (and quite mobile) in the soil. NEWSWEEK says that Germany's "crackdown on green biotech is particularly poignant." Perhaps. But more poignant would be a world that realized belatedly that it had missed a chance to protect a critical piece of the food chain. Pandora lives.
Kathy Leonard, Randolph Center, Vermont

Rather than mocking Germans for starving, as it were, their formerly ferocious economy with a diet of organic tofu instead of genetically modified soy-fed steak, NEWSWEEK should congratulate them for facing up to the consequences of their belief that not everything can, or should, be valued in economic terms.
Julian Lees, Plymouth, England

'Generic Giants'
Your article correctly highlights that Huawei's focus is business-to-business, but faults us for not being a household word. It is important to note that we make telecom hardware that is used by 36 of the world's top 50 telecommunications carriers; clearly, customers trust our products and services. Insinuating that as a China-based company we have ownership links to the Chinese government is like saying that General Electric has ownership links to the United States government merely because some of its senior managers are military veterans and the company sells to the government. We are a privately held company with 100 percent employee ownership. International trade and foreign investment benefit all countries, including China, and our company is succeeding because of the same open trading system that allows multinationals to succeed in China. Unsubstantiated allegations that could be used to fuel protectionism are ultimately bad for all companies and for the global economy.
Ross Gan, Global Head, Corporate Branding & Communications Dept., Huawei Technologies, Shenzhen, China