Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

I was rather baffled to read on this page Taimur Malik’s recent article about Dubai. If I understand Malik’s thoughts correctly, he argues that because Dubai 1) was formerly under British administration, 2) is a prominent tourist destination, 3) has world-class port facilities, 4) has tall buildings, 5) is a moderately liberal society, 6) is rich in mineral wealth, 7) hosts many Columbia alumni, and 8) no longer has child laborers, Columbia should therefore haphazardly “buy into” the region, whatever that means. The author fails to mention that the same could be said about Australia, and disappointingly does not champion Columbia increasing its footprint in that resource-rich region as well.

With regards,
Tao Tan, CC ’07, Business ’11
President Emeritus, Columbia Association of Australia
Oct. 30, 2010