August 27, 1995

CALL me superficial, but the thing that first impressed me about the Suzuki Esteem was its cup holder. On many cars, the cup holders are tucked below the control panels. That means, once they are sprung and cups placed therein, the climate or radio controls, or both, become almost inaccessible.

SUDDENLY, it seems, China is the world's troublemaker. For two months it played with the life of Harry Wu, before setting the human rights advocate free last week so that Washington would not embarrass China by keeping Hillary Rodham Clinton from a conference on women in Beijing next week.

THE nation's center of population is a device that only a statistician could contrive -- the pivot at which a perfectly level map of the United States would balance if everyone weighed the same. It's fitting that the pivot turns out to be Steelville, Mo., a town of fewer than 2,000 people that grew up around a gristmill in the 19th century, thrived until the railroad and the Interstate passed it by and then reinvented itself by remodeling downtown storefronts to evoke a bygone era when the small town was synonymous with American values.

Facing South Africa's Past Seeking justice for those who suffered under South Africa's three decades of brutal apartheid is proving emotionally and politically difficult for the new Government. Page 3. Clintons Defend Conference The Clintons defended the upcoming world conference on women, denouncing those who call it a radical event and saying women still lack basic rights in many places. Page 10. Crash on Block Island A single-engine seaplane attempting to land off Block Island, R.I., crashed into a restaurant and exploded, killing five people. Page 12. Brooklyn Hotel Burns More than 500 firefighters fought a blaze that gutted part of the landmark St. George Hotel, heavily damaging a 30-story co-op. Page 31.

AS ocean waves generated by Hurricane Felix subsided last week, one topic dominated conversation in West Hampton Dunes, on Fire Island, at Jones Beach and all along the South Shore barrier islands. If rough surf from a distant hurricane that never touched land could test fragile coastal defenses so severely, coastline dwellers asked one another, what lies ahead in a hurricane season that is only now approaching its peak?