I’m really getting a laugh over the soap opera that is China. As the opening curtain for the summer Olympics draws near, you can’t help but get a sense of panic setting in from the Asian country.
If its not one thing, its another as China continues to sweep things under it’s carpet hoping it will go away.
Doctors and nurses are forced to wear helmets and carry police truncheons in order to protect themselves from angry patients and their families. It’s pretty bad when a medical caregiver has to resort to violence in order to protect themselves from the very people they are supposedly helping! I’m thinking the Chinese health care system is in need of a serious overhaul.
Still on the subject of health care, it is reported that about 200,000 people die each year in China because of drug “misuse”. The report stresses that the deaths have nothing to do with “fake” drugs that are on the market, only the legitimate ones.
In an attempt to put U.S. consumers’ minds at ease after China’s recent spate of tainted foods exports, the Chinese Government has released a statement. “The Chinese government pays a great deal of attention to consumer safety. China is a responsible country when it comes to protecting consumers’ health and security,” said Li Chuanqing, a vice-minister of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine.
Phew! What a relief. If the Chinese Government says it’s food products are safe, who are we to claim otherwise? Give me a break!
Somebody should tell the Chinese Communist Party leaders that in the free world, actions speak louder than words. I would, but I’ve been censored!
On a more positive note, I came across an op-ed piece in the China Daily Newspaper. The writer is unidentified, but he speaks out against the demand for Shark Fin Soup.
Here is the person’s article in it’s entirety.
Say no to shark fin soup
(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-05-21 06:38
We are no longer what we were. More and more of our daily choices are being felt in remote corners of the world.
This time, it is not our thirst for ore or oil. It is our obsession with shark fins.
The World Conservation Union has appealed to the European Union to stop exporting shark fins to China because of the drastic drop in the number of sharks.
China and the EU are singled out because we are the No 1 consumer, and they the No 1 exporter. Some rare species of sharks are on the brink of extinction because we like the taste of their fins.
Shame on us.
This is a loss of biodiversity that is relatively easy to reverse.
Shark fins are not a regular dish on the dinner table of an ordinary Chinese home. They are favored by the rich.
For China’s nouveau riche shark fins are symbols of wealth and class.
Though the rich makes up only a small portion of society, the absolute number of shark fin consumers is still shockingly large given the nation’s huge population.
They share that misperception because shark fins are expensive. And they need expensive foods to prop up self-confidence.
Shark fins carry exorbitant price tags because they are scarce, their processing is complicated, and they are cooked with rare and expensive ingredients.
But shark fins’ vaunted unusual nutritional value turns out to be unfounded.
They are indeed rich in protein, but no more than meat, scientists say. As for taste, the accompanying fancy ingredients are responsible for the coveted flavor of shark fin soup.
Many who have tasted plain shark fin say it is tasteless, like fine vermicelli. In fact, there are reports of dishonest restaurants substituting vermicelli for shark fin.
So we do not have to kill the sharks to guarantee our protein intake or the dishes’ special taste.
Our challenge is to inform our wealthy but ignorant shark fin afficienados.
If they cannot change their status symbols to something that does not threaten our planet’s species, our authorities should take action.
(China Daily 05/21/2007 page4)
Sphere: Related Content
Technorati Tags:
China,
Chinese Food Exports,
Chinese Health Care,
Shark Fin Soup,
Shark Finning
Tags: The China Effect by vicezilla
No Comments »
Email Vicezilla
