Those Environmentally Concerned Chinese

[TheMercenary]

'Noah's Ark' of 5,000 rare animals found floating off the coast of China

Endangered, hunted, smuggled and now abandoned, 5,000 of the world's rarest animals have been found drifting in a deserted boat near the coast of China.
The pangolins, Asian giant turtles and lizards were crushed inside crates on a rickety wooden vessel that had lost engine power off Qingzhou island in the southern province of Guangdong. Most were alive, though the cargo also contained 21 bear paws wrapped in newspaper.

According to conservation groups, the haul was discovered on one of the world's most lucrative and destructive smuggling routes: from the threatened jungles of south-east Asia to the restaurant tables of southern China.

More:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/china/stor...088589,00.html

[xoxoxoBruce]

The Chinese culture, ingrained for thousands of years, is to eat almost anything that is safe.... and cautiously eat things that aren't. They have not been groomed by environmentalists, either. That's the last Ring Eared Flopsy on earth?... well we better eat it before someone else does.
They are not used to a surplus of food and not worrying about what they will eat next year, month, week.

A slow accumulation of disposable income would naturally quell the desire to blow it on luxuries, but the sudden influx of money from walmart has allowed them the flexibility to sample exotic critters, only rich people had before.

What struck me as telling was;

The animals - which weighed 13 tonnes - were taken to port, doused with water and sent to an animal welfare centre. "We have received some animals," said an office worker at the Guangdong Wild Animal Protection Centre. "We are waiting to hear from the authorities what we should do with them."

Even the professional animal rescuers, don't seem to have natural instincts, to save these animals. They have to wait for orders. Sad.

[TheMercenary]

Sad for sure. It sort of follows what I believe to be a similar thought process on the issue of global warming. What is good for the rest of the world does not include the Chinese government. We want the world to behave but they get to operate, without debate or at least with a pass, on a different set of rules. All the while advancing economically on the backs of these double standards.

[Aliantha]

We want the world to behave but they get to operate, without debate or at least with a pass, on a different set of rules. All the while advancing economically on the backs of these double standards.

China is definitely not the only country to be living by double standards. Every country in the world is guilty of something, and if people feel so unhappy with China, why are they still purchasing products made in China? The quickest way to solve the problem is to put trade sanctions on them, but it's unlikely any government in the world would even attempt it.

[Sundae]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

The Chinese culture, ingrained for thousands of years, is to eat almost anything that is safe.... and cautiously eat things that aren't. They have not been groomed by environmentalists, either. That's the last Ring Eared Flopsy on earth?... well we better eat it before someone else does.
They are not used to a surplus of food and not worrying about what they will eat next year, month, week.

A British born Chinese friend told me his Dad (Chinese born) said the Chinese had eaten every kind of meat in the 20th century. Yes, that does include human.

It's under 50 years ago that millions of Chinese people starved to death during the Great Leap Forward - some estimates put it as high as 30 million. To put that into context, approx 60 million people worldwide died as a result of WWII. And the Great Leap Forward (and ensuing chaos during the Cultural Revolution) was more recent.

It's sad, but I can understand it.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Yes, I think there has been a food shortage, someplace in China, since the beginning of time. The country is so big and the weather so diverse, crop failures are assured someplace, every year. In an agrarian society, that means somebody will be hungry.

[Ibby]

Half of China IS desert, you know...

[TheMercenary]

Bottom line folks is they are asking us, as well as India is, for us to conform to energy standards that they themselves would not conform to, in an effort to take advantage of a weak liberal government blind to the dangers.

[Ibby]

What do terrible animal protection abuses and snacking on endagered animals have to do with global warming and energy standards?

We need to drop the hammer on China and other Eastern nations about this shit, seriously.

[Urbane Guerrilla]

Sundae, I think that's a lowball estimate for WW2 overall. It is about right for the European Theater, though.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by rkzenrage

We need to drop the hammer on China and other Eastern nations about this shit, seriously.

The problem is defining "we". Walmart(business) isn't going to, the government isn't going to cross business, I don't speak Chinese, so it's up to you now.