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China Post: Who's Hu?

If Hu Jintao, Republic of China vice president and heir-apparent to President Jiang Zemin, takes over after the 16th Party Congress in October, it will be the first time "a successor has succeeded," says Joseph Fewsmith, a CAS professor of international relations, in the March 1 China Post. Because of Hu's cautious approach, the pace of political reform in mainland China is likely to be modest, although "the next decade may see more political reform than most are expecting," he says. In terms of Hu's likely approach to Taiwan, Fewsmith says, he "will be realistic on this issue, but don't expect him to give up the 'one China' policy."

Trends in Biotechnology (London): Anthrax panic more dangerous than disease

In a letter published in the March 2002 issue of Trends in Biotechnology, Vadim Demidov, a senior research associate at BU's Center for Advanced Biotechnology, writes that because the fear of anthrax still dominates the news, "thousands of Americans have been preventatively taking antibiotics for weeks. This seems nonsensical because all known antibiotics were developed and are used to treat bacterial infections rather than to prevent them. In addition, there are serious side effects associated with extensively taking these drugs. Such a mass hysteria is no less dangerous than anthrax itself. Indeed, the prolonged indiscriminate use of antibiotics on a large scale could readily spread a new kind of drug resistance among various types of other pathogenic bacteria. . . . In my Russian childhood I lived very close to the place where the carcasses of anthrax-killed animals were first sanitized then discarded, and no one in my neighborhood was ever infected."

Hamilton Spectator (Toronto): Tight job market hits BU students

In the 1990s, when recent graduates headed out into the job world, the stock market was on a bull run and the dot-com frenzy was in full swing. Now, however, the National Association of Colleges and Employers in the United States estimates that there will be 20 to 25 percent fewer jobs for students who graduate with a bachelor's degree this year, says the February 23 Hamilton Spectator. Only 50 companies came to a two-day recruiting fair at BU last October, compared with about 100 the previous year, says Richard Leger, director of career services. Many companies had just instituted hiring freezes, he says, adding that even some of those that showed up were there simply to maintain a presence on campus. Michael Walsh, Jr., director of placement for ENG, reports that 34 companies pledged to come to a job fair for engineering majors in February, compared with 59 companies last year. Of them, 7 agreed to come after the $250 participation fee was waived.

The O'Reilly Factor (Fox News Network): Islam is religion of peace

Comments made by Pat Robertson on his 700 Club television program, such as Islam "is not a peaceful religion that wants to coexist," led Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly to ask for a reaction from John Berthrong, STH associate dean, who was a guest on The O'Reilly Factor on February 22. "As the president has said, Islam is a religion of peace," says Berthrong. "That's actually what the term Islam means. . . . You can go through anyone's scripture, you can go through the Hebrew scriptures, you can go through the Christian scriptures, certainly go through the Koran, and if you pull things out of context, you can find some rather hair-raising things. . . . It's very easy, I've discovered, in religious contexts, to pick the points that are contentious. That makes news."

8 March 2002
Boston University
Office of University Relations