I would like to point out some inaccuracies regarding Parris Chang's comments on the Burma issue on Feb. 24 cover page article by Jason Alt.

Parris states that the divestment of Pepsico from Burma is "putting the people of Burma in a siege," which is the reason he stated for doing more harm since it will cause the people of Burma to become closed to change. This a blatant fallacy. It is the people of Burma who asked the multinational companies to divest. Ang San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy, which won 80 percent of the vote in a 1990 election that was annuled by the State Law and Order Restoration Council and Nobel People Prize recipient, has asked for the divestment of companies because of the fact that it is the business from these companies which directly fund purchase of weapons that are used to repress the people of Burma.

Parris also states that "students tend to look at complicated situations in black-and-white terms." Dr. Chang has a history of looking at black-and-white situations in complicated terms, or at least of seeing so many colors, he has difficulty identifying them. When the ruling Kuo Ming Tang (KMT) government of Taiwan possessed power and prestige, Parris Chang in 1960s spoke and published the dogma of the KMT supported by their funds. Likewise, when Communist China was bestowed favor by the United States government, Dr. Chang quickly changed masks. Then, in the late '80s with the emergence of Taiwan's successful democratic movement, Parris Chang "surprisingly" became sympathetic to the democratic movement, earning him the label of "three-legged dog" among long time observers of his actions. Is it any surprise that in this case Parris Chang is speaking the dogma of powerful and rich Pepsico who also claims that businesses effect political change?

Businesses have the leverage to affect political change by divesting from countries until they become more democratic!

As for the question of "How effective is it?" I point to South Africa as a case. If you ask the average State College citizen, "What is apartheid?" I guarantee more will be able to give an answer than if you ask "What is SLORC?" The foundation of democracy is to have a well-informed populace with full access to information. Because the divestment campaign put economic and public pressure on the apartheid government, South Africa had to become more democratic. The effectiveness of the Burma campaign rests in this as well.