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PACKWOOD SAID, "I AM ACCUSED OF KISSING women. Not drugging, not robbing. Kissing." Does he think that unwanted sexual advances are not criminal offenses? Does he think, "O.K., I tried, I was turned down. No big deal"? As a woman who has been approached in a manner similar to Packwood's, I can say it's degrading and shocking. The fact that Packwood was allowed to resign and keep his $88,922 pension, rather than be expelled from the Senate, is insane. In most business environments, the offender would be fired without pension or severance, and possibly face criminal charges. For Packwood, his so-called punishment is merely a slap on the wrist; for the women he harassed, and other victims of sexual harassment, it is a slap in the face. DOROTHY BELLONI West Springfield, New Hampshire Via E-mail
REMEMBER THE ADVICE "SAY IT WITH candy, say it with drink, but never, never say it with ink''? It appears that Senator Packwood pulled more than one major oops with his taped and transcribed diary. His lecherous musings got him into trouble, and his transcribed discussions with Senator Phil Gramm about political funding may have both him and Gramm in hot water. This matter deserves the most stringent Senate investigation and open hearings. ALEXANDER D. BELL Dallas
WHEN PACKWOOD ANNOUNCED HIS RESIGNATION from the Senate, he listed his reasons for doing so: duty, honor, country. He seems to have forgotten one more motivation: his pension. WALTER WARNER State College, Pennsylvania
I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT all this Oregon rain makes our brains rust. Packwood and Tonya Harding can't be a coincidence. DIZ GREER Corvallis, Oregon
COMING TOGETHER IN BEIJING
I AM INCLINED TO THINK THAT THE PARTICIPANTS in the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing deserved the harassment they got [WOMEN'S RIGHTS, Sept. 18]. They should have protested from the beginning that the meeting had been located in a country with a government so disgraced that nothing shames it anymore. The whole event has been an insult to womanhood, a parody of a conference. The joke was played by Beijing dictators but permitted by those who attended. Everybody seemed to cajole the Chinese bully, hoping he would stomp on heads more gently. The intimidator did just the opposite. Are we waiting until the Chinese bully grows so big that nobody is able to constrain him? JOANNA YU Surrey, British Columbia
IF THIS IS WHAT THE CHINESE CONSIDER hospitality, how far will they go before they consider it oppression? WILLIAM D. STEELMAN San Diego
IT WAS A GREAT COUP FOR CHINA TO BE host of the women's conference. But the Chinese should have sought even greater credit. They should have refrained from ugly harassment and close surveillance of the participants and not restricted their speech and movement. In the future the U.N. should fully guarantee such basic rights in a host country before it is chosen as a conference site. TENZIN YANGDAK Mont Pelerin, Switzerland
IT WAS ENCOURAGING TO SEE WOMEN OF modest origins speak out at the conference. However, I could not tolerate the arrogance with which Hillary Clinton took to the podium to express her opinions on social justice and freedom. UGO DEBIASI Ladysmith, British Columbia