China Saved His Life, but Not Individual Freedoms

How ironic that Jerry Moses returned to China in gratitude for that country’s decent treatment of him as a Jewish refugee during World War II--the very country where to practice one’s religion gets one thrown in prison today (“Return of a Shanghai Jew,” by Adam Minter, Los Angeles Times Magazine, Jan. 15). What if he were to hand out the Torah, hold a prayer service or surf the Internet to post a political opinion? Don’t even consider it. An individual may be grateful for a wartime hide-out, but that does not change the fact that he has returned to a country where he dare not speak his opinions. His life was saved, but individual freedoms were not.

Caroline Miranda

North Hollywood