The other Mr Mirsky
From Mr Joseph Askew Sir: I was interested to read Jonathan Mirsky's article On bed with the Reds', 10 November) on Rupert Murdoch and the Chinese communists. A long time ago I read another article by a very different Jonathan Mirsky. This one, in the Journal of Asian Studies, criticised John King Fairbank's generally fellow-travelling textbook for being insufficiently supine to the Chinese Communist party.
While I can find little good to say about Mr Murdoch personally, during the Cold War he stood up for freedom and democracy in the face of vicious criticism from the likes of that other Jonathan Mirsky.
It is certainly better to defend reformist communists who have immensely improved life in China (mostly by giving up on communism) than it is to justify the Cultural Revolution. If Mr Mirsky thinks he has earned the right to criticise anyone for sucking up communists, I suggest he is mistaken.
Joseph Askew
Blackwood, South Australia
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