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Editor: 

Senator Dianne Feinstein wants a moratorium on student visas. Some of the terrorists who entered this country did so on business visas. Should there be a moratorium of such visas? Should American business people be confined in this country for six months? Will American students be allowed to travel abroad during this period? Should they be allowed to travel, but only to Canada and Mexico? How will Oxford and Cambridge treat Americans, when British nationals aren’t allowed to study in this country? 

The Star Bulletin did a poll that found 53 percent of Canadians support the creation of a USA-Canada security perimeter, even if it means accepting INS policies. And 59 percent of respondents subscribed to the following statement: “I don’t mind giving up some of our national sovereignty if it increases overall security in North America.” 

Even the diploma mills that essentially sell visas to so-called students applying from abroad do a better job than the State Department in screening them. This year approximately one-half of the best and brightest Chinese already accepted to such prestigious graduate schools as Stanford, USC, UC San Diego, UCLA and UC Berkeley were denied visas by the Embassy in Beijing, and consulate-general and consulates throughout China. 

Meanwhile, millions of East-bound visitors have gotten off planes in Honolulu alone. I was the only one frisked from the ANA flight when I arrived at Narita Airport last Monday. 

Richard Thompson 

in Korea