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Coronavirus Outbreak Must Not Morph into Anti-Chinese Stereotyping

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Yes, China could do better in terms of public hygiene. But, moral panic over the foods the Chinese eat is more about cultural prejudices than anything else.”

Epidemics have always scared the bejeezus out of people—and with good reason. Smallpox alone killed 300 million people in the 20th century alone, prior to its eradication in 1980. No wonder the Pale Horseman of the Apocalypse is usually associated with pestilence. Given that—as Darwin would have it—we will forever live in a struggle for existence, it is unlikely that we will ever defeat germs altogether.

This typically prompts cultural anxieties. Germs are much more than little things that kill people; they also can become a means of expressing xenophobia. In the midsts of epidemics, cultural outsiders frequently become scapegoats. In the 14th century, one third of the European population was wiped out by bubonic plague. At the time, nobody knew what caused this terrible pandemic, but Jews were frequently pointed to as culprits and were accused of poisoning wells.

Furthermore, particular groups become associated with certain contagious diseases and, as a result, can find themselves targets of discrimination. Sometimes, the outbreak of a disease is blamed on a particular group’s cultural habits, and this contributes even more to their discrimination. In the United States during the 19th Century, cholera was blamed on Irish immigrants and their living conditions in urban slums. In the early days of AIDS, it was thought that this was a gay disease brought on by their promiscuity; in more recent times, Africans have become associated with HIV/AIDS and are occasionally blamed for its spread because of alleged sexual contacts with chimpanzees.

We now have a new outbreak. The coronavirus has begun in China. Although the entire city of Wuhan has been quarantined by the Chinese government, some cases have also been reported in neighboring countries, as well as in the United States. As with many other epidemics in human history, this has also become an occasion for xenophobia.

Anxieties over the so-called “Yellow Peril” are nothing new. The demographic power of East Asia has always made Westerners nervous. China was perceived as a sleeping giant that—if awoken—could bring forth havoc to Europe and North America. The Chinese may now be seen as a “model minority” by some parties in the United States; however, in 1882, the United States passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers. The fictional Chinese villain Fu Manchu was not just a funny mad scientist; he was the expression of the imagined dangers that the Far East, with its huge population, embodied.

Trade brings cultures closer, so the “othering” of China has dissipated in more recent times—but not entirely. With its crowded cities, China is still perceived as a danger to global health. There is certainly legitimacy to that view. But, additionally, Chinese eating habits are especially frowned upon, and Chinese dietary choices likely remain one of the significant leitmotivs in Western cultural anxiety about China.

Predictably, this is becoming the case with the coronavirus outbreak. It appears that the virus spread to humans from a bat, sold for consumption in a meat market in Wuhan. This confirms many Westerners’ fears that the Chinese cannot be trusted because they will eat anything. Who, in their right mind, could eat cute little puppies?

Some clarification is in order. Yes, China could do better in terms of public hygiene. But, moral panic over the foods the Chinese eat is more about cultural prejudices than anything else. Perhaps this time a bat was responsible for the spread of the coronavirus. But, as a rule of thumb, bats are not particularly dangerous creatures to eat. As they are described in the Oxford Companion to Food, bats, “are clean animals living exclusively on fruit, and have a taste which has been compared (like so much other exotic animal fare) to that of chicken.” One might say that, even if bats are clean creatures, eating wild animals is still not a particularly good idea. Sure—but, then, let’s make a bigger deal out of deer hunting; after all, there are risks involved

Anthropologists have long studied cultural prohibitions on food. One common conclusion they reach is that specific foods are seldom prohibited on safety grounds. Take, for example, the Jewish and Muslim prohibitions against eating pork. Yes, pork may cause trichinosis, but it is doubtful that whoever wrote Leviticus (the Biblical book that inspires this prohibition) had that disease in mind. Anthropologist Mary Douglas argued that pork was more likely prohibited because the pig defied Hebrew classifications, whereas Marvin Harris believed pork was prohibited because it is not practical to raise it in the desert. Whatever the reason, the prohibition of pork reflected Middle Easterners’ own cultural and economic concerns, rather than objective sanitary knowledge. Cows may cause Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease but don’t expect a rabbi or an imam to outlaw eating steak anytime soon.  

This anthropological insight should tell us something about our shock when we see the Chinese eating dogs. Every year, thousands of activists will sign petitions against the Yulin dog festival. If you are a strict vegetarian and are concerned about animal welfare as a whole, then you have a legitimate claim. But, if you eat sheep, cows, or chicken but still tear your garments upon seeing the Chinese eating dogs, then—at best—you are a hypocrite and—at worst—you are a bigot. Pigs and cows are just as intelligent as dogs (in fact, pigs may even be more intelligent), so what, exactly, makes going to McDonald’s a normal activity but going to the Yulin festival a crime? Hard to say. One might argue that the Chinese are especially cruel to dogs when they eat them, but if one believes that, then surely he has not visited a Western slaughterhouse.

I am no friend of cultural relativism. Over the years, in books and articles, I have consistently argued for the cultural superiority of the West in many relevant aspects. But, the time has come for me to give the devil his due: when it comes to the Chinese and that which they eat, we need relativism. In the 16th century, Michel de Montaigne famously said that cannibalism in Brazil was not so bad because Europeans did worse things. To me, this always appeared to be a cheap shot. However, upon seeing the recurrent hysteria over some Chinese villager eating a bat or a dog (and also taking into account the nasty and long history of the “Yellow Peril” moral panic in the West), I now think that—at least this one time—we, Westerners, should be more like Montaigne. 

This stance will even prove beneficial in fighting the coronavirus. We need to persuade China to take better sanitary measures, such as it is now doing in building a hospital from scratch in Wuhan. However, pontificating about how monstrous Chinese people are for eating Lassie will not help at all.

Dr. Gabriel Andrade is a university professor. He has previously contributed to Areo Magazine and DePauw University’s The Prindle Post. His twitter is @gandrade80

73 thoughts on “Coronavirus Outbreak Must Not Morph into Anti-Chinese Stereotyping

  1. The holy book only approved animals that chew the cud to be eaten, pigs are also unclean but we eat them though they posses serious risk to weak people.

    1. Bottom line, you take a “wild” aka FREE animal, &
      put them in a tiny wire cage in a busy, noisey +++ market where their immune systems get knocked out of commission then mix them with other animals & food, it is a disaster in the making!! This is 2020 so lets not talk about 1000 BC PLEASE!!! The Chinese from Whuhan province have blood on their hands without a doubt! For example, Chinese murderers were killing Canadian bears for their “gallbladder” only! Why? Cause they believe that when it’s dried & crushed into a powder it’s helps with male virility!! Give me a f__king break already! Can these people not be educated to the truth about all this? They are, gor the most part, a pretty intelligent race!? Maybe all those poor pangolins etc. didn’t die in vain after all!

      1. Its not the Chinese from Wuhan who is to be blamed for this.. this issue strikes at the heart of ALL that is wrong with Xi jinping and his communist regime! If xi acted swiftly and without any hesitation this would have NOT HAPPENED at all!! You, me and every other poor souls affected by this devastating disease can thank xi jinping and his communist lackies for this one!

        And what really truly sickens me is that the ccp (Chinese communist party) tries to spin this mess of their own making into a propaganda of how “great” their political system is while underneath all that they are treating their own citizens with absolute disregard for human rights. The communist party is purely to blame for this and you can also thank them for the terrible trade war we went through last year too!

        Its about time everyone all over the world woke up and smell the crap those CCP criminals have been shoveling up everyone’s A holes and realise we dont need to deal with commies like xi jinping and just move all factory and productions elsewhere. Just getting really sick and tired of having to put up with BS from this guy time and time again!

        Wake up people and make the communist party in china be held accountable for their actions as i have said before this is the SECOND time this BS has happened. If you can’t control your own people then get out of office!!

  2. I do not agree with some aspects of your article and miss the point that lack of hygiene is what caused this absolute disaster and i would have thought that chinese and the government would have learned their lessons back then! Please do not mix the subject of culture into this discussion as other cultures eat bats too. This is all about Chinese and their lack of basic hygiene and nothing more. The opportunities for inter species mingling of faecal, blood and other disease ridden bacteria and viruses abound! This is an absolute disgrace what happened and there’s no excuse for a country like china that is number 2 economy is the world to allow such disregard for basic hygiene and therefore just basic public education. I really think this whole debacle just highlights the very chink in the armor of the otherwise a very secretive regime that pats their own back that communis is the way of the future! I think not!

    As for yulin festival! Please DO NOT even try standing up for that barbaric festival unless your chinese and your one of the organisers! I don’t think poultry producers skin dogs alive or boil them alive! Just do some basic reserch before you post such absurd poorly researched opinion pieces!!

    1. Darling, apart from grammar and spelling problems, you are lacking in reading and comprehension skills.
      1. I have very clearly made the point that the trouble with China may be hygiene, but not their diet. You read the whole article, yet you somehow missed my point.
      2. I mentioned that slaughterhouses in the West are not much different from the Yulin festival. You obviously did not bother to see the link I provided documenting that.

      1. Hi, thanks for responding back. I get the point of the article and agree that foods chinese eat must not be basis of negative stereotyping, but the issue of hygiene will and that’s the cause of this very illness. So negative stereotyping may be inevitable especially given that this coronavirus is the second time a disease of this magnitude has originated from china on basis of hygiene. Something needs to happen here and is no longer acceptable that international community have to be affected by this!

        As for your second point, about yulin festival, please do not generalise by saying Western slaughterhouses as i dont know what country your from but in my country (yes i m from a western country too) if you’re caught doing that kind of cruel acts to animals you’ll be fully prosecuted and possibly skinned alive in jail! But my point is, its very disrespectful to generalise and compare cruel treatments like skinning dogs alive and cooking dogs alive in a hot boiling pot is an undescribable act of horror that no living thing should have to endure. Particularly if its only to give added flavour! Just astounding that you can say “not that much better than some western slaughterhouses”. This is really what made me comment in the first place as if you have any respect for life then you would not try to defend this barbaric festival in any shape or form!

        Thank you for your attention

        1. Mr Nobu, thank you so much for your comments and answers to Mr Antrade. You expressed clearly what I am thinking as well, and probably much better than I would do, English being not my mother tongue. People around the world are deeply affected about the way that animals are treated in some places in Asia, and especially in China, e.g. Yulin. This is an authentic feeling of empathy towards the animals, nothing to do with racism against Chinese people. And of course, we admit there is still work to do in Western countries to better protect animals but nothing to compare with the dreadful cruelty that we are observing in China. The first time I discovered this terrible reality some years ago, thanks (thanks?) to Facebook, I was deeply sad, and still am I…

          1. Dear Véronique,

            Thank you for your response. I must admit your response is much more eloquent and much more diplomatic than your colleague who responded back to me !

            Its good to know that you share a similar view on this topic and especially in regards to racism on basis of hygiene. As i was reading on the news that this has already started happening around different parts of Asia. Though it is sad for this to happen, however the Chinese government are the real culprit behind this issue and their inability to properly regulate their citizens on basic hygiene matters. I do hope to see mor positive changes in the near future.

            For now, thank you all for your interesting comments! I may check back to read comments from time to time, however i will not be commenting any further. Good luck to everyone, regardless whichever way this virus will take us.

          2. The Chinese are getting the barest molecule of a taste of what is coming and what they most likely truly deserve. However, all of we humans are culpable. But, as is always the case, some of us more than others. Take a look at the epicenter of the Corona virus. It’s most likely one of the first of a number of pandemics to come. All due to to a lack of human compassion towards our non human sisters and brothers. We’ll soon learn just how much we’re all connected.

      2. Dear Dr. Andrade
        I hope you will forgive my temerity in questioning the propriety of your somewhat astringent criticism of Nobu’s grammar and spelling in what we may reasonably take to be not his native language.

        My dear, it just isn’t done.

        1. Hi David,

          I appreciate your sentiment towards my apparent lax of the English grammar. However i do need to point out that it is very difficult for me to write on this discussion board from a mobile phone as i cannot even scroll back to see what i previously wrote. And also rather clunky when it comes to correcting errors. So all in all i m not that focused on grammar at all. Just simply want to get my message across and as long as people understand my comment, then purpose is served as far as i am concerned.

          Also please do not assume based on my name that i am not of a native tongue as i do admit i was not born in a western nation, however i confirm i was raised in one so as far as i am concerned there is no difference. Please do not assume, thanks!

          1. My criticism was not aimed at you but at Dr Andrade’s rudeness toward you.However, as a teacher of English for 25 years, I can tell the difference between the grammar mistakes of a native and non-native speaker of English. If you wish, I can point out the errors that confirm such a judgement.

      3. Slaughter houses in the west are not much different from the yulin festival, you say? Do they go out and steal loved pet cows in the west do they? Maybe you need to do more research before you write an article on the topic, most of the dogs consumed in the yulin festival and through out the year, are stolen pets

        1. Being against any country torturing any animal especially the way that the Chinese do is not racist, and to compare that to racism is an jnsult to say that criticizing those horrible people is racism is ridiculous. They sre barbarians and deserve all bad things that come their way. The fact that they can listen and watch the fear and pain that these poor dogs go through not just on that horrible day but days that lead up to it. Being dragged by a car is fun for those barbarians, more fear more fun to the scum bags. Stolen animals for sure, i just don’t understand how any of this is allowed by a government doing business with civilized countries. Yes ghe Chinese are not very hygienic especially in those areas where they torture and kill dogs and they call it a festival???? Animal abuse needs to have reform in every country and torture should never be allowed but to call this a festival. Is an insult to anyone who cares about humanity. Yulin should be wiped out and have a memorial put there for all the stolen and tortured snd killed dogs. Very hard to believe this goes on today. Very hard to not think about those poor dogs every day and not be able to stop this insanity, and please don’t insult people by saying this is culture, this is barbaric

      4. I’ve made the mistake of watching Yulin festival videos of dogs being boiled alive while onlookers laugh and throw them back in the pot when they escape. It’s barbaric. I stand against cruelty in my own country too so this isn’t about me being culturally biased. By saying “it’s not the food, it’s the hygiene” you are saying “ it’s cool, steal exotic animals from the rainforest, it’s cool, steal domestic animals for public torture” . You can also write about my grammar, I could give 2 💩’s.

      5. People like you are the reason that these dogs continue to be tortured and killed, think about it darling, sleep well

    2. NOBU. Spoken like a true hero for animals! They don’t NEED to torture cats, dogs. other animals if they HAVE to eat them. They can do a FAST Kill if necessary. Nothing like watching 3 low life barbaric china men torturing a small, helpless dog. The torture makes the meat more “masculine ” for the 3 barbarians so they can be big and strong and torture more little animals in the future.

    3. I agree. No way for any decent human being to in any way defend the Yulin dog festival. Nothing hidden from the Chinese public there. Unlike slaughter houses in the west. But so much being exposed now. Cameras everywhere. Videos on the internet. Those who can’t talk are beginning to be seen. Many people becoming vegan as a result. The only reason people eat animal flesh, wear their fur and skin and drink the milk that’s for THEIR babies is because they can’t defend themselves. They have no weapons against us. If they could, then we humans would find many delicious non animal foods to eat and non animal clothes to wear and non animal tested ways to fight disease virtually overnight. I feel no obligation to be in any way politically correct towards the Chinese. I still see the photo of a small dog with her forelegs cut off, still alive, lying on the ground amid throngs of Chinese walking about happily at the Yulin festival.

  3. It’s not just what the Chinese eat but, more importantly, the horror of how they slaughter animals, inflicting maximum protracted torture and suffering so that the meat will taste better. How can this be overlooked? We have a long ways to go in the West, but the horrific and unimaginable cruelty of the videos I’ve seen coming out of China have caused psychological trauma. Truly they seem a race apart. However, I am heartened to understand that the younger generations seem to exhibit more compassion, empathy, and concern for the suffering of others, including animals.

      1. I am vegan so I have no part in any of the cruelty however, are the cows skinned alive/boiled alive for public display and entertainment? That’s hell on earth right there. The youth of China and Korea want no part in the cruelty that is The dog/cat meat trade. It will eventually be a thing of the past but in the meantime, the Yulin festival tarnishes China’s reputation. Take it or leave it. It’s up to China to fix that. If I tortured animals for public entertainment and stole exotic/endangered animals it would tarnish my reputation as well. It’s that simple.

      2. Deluded or disgustingly ignorant or perhaps emotionally bankrupted to believe Slaughterhouses in the West are not much different from the Yulin festival.

      3. Its not a festival, the workers are the same kind of barbarians that are in china except they do it trying to hide it so they don’t get caught, ghis also needs to be stopped but again its not a festival

    1. Yep. They certainly are a ‘Race apart’, if not a totally different breed altogether. The yulin festival is one of
      the most cruel and horrific events that takes place on
      this planet and should be stopped by any means
      necessary. I’m not saying Coronavirus but I’m just
      saying… some people should die. And as far as I’m
      concerned, to defend such an atrocity makes you,
      dear Andrade, just as vile and guilty as those less than humans who participate in it.

  4. Lack of hygiene and cruelty is the problem with China and not only them. I agree we should be open to any culture even perhaps to cannibalism one day too but not to cruelty .

    1. Cannibalism is a hard pill to swallow, but I do struggle to find a moral reason to oppose the non-violent variety (i.e., eating those who had natural deaths). Yet, non-violent cannibalism is not without its dangers. Kuru in New Guinea was a deadly epidemic that came as a result of cannibalism.

      1. At western countries throw live animals to boiling water? or remove legs when that animal is live? or burn the animal and making fun of it? first, learn to respect what you going to eat. act like a human and don’t act like lower than human.

    2. Open to cannibalism? Good luck with that dahmer. Thank god most people are not sick enough to buy into that. I have a chinese girlfriend and even she criticizes some of the dietary practices in China. She even mentioned that her parents worked at hospitals where some ppl wanted to conserve placentas from women who gave birth so they could make placenta soup. I don’t care what you say but that is just flat out disgusting. And most people in the west would agree with that. So the bottom line is that we should NOT be open to these distasteful practices just because some libtards say so. There are many other examples of such abhorrent practices in the oriental world . These practices are not only disgusting , they are not backed by science. I have yet to see a scientific article that says eating bats is good for you. In fact, the evidence points the other way. Unfortunately, China is full of people who are into these stupid folklore beliefs and don’t believe in science. Probably one of the many reasons China has a lower human development index than any western country. Not saying western diet is good either. But the truth is self-evident. Some cultures are objectively superior to others, and facts don’t care about your feelings :)

  5. Coronavirus can be transmitted from a dog to a human, you know what eating a dog is so so sick. Karma at work china, just keep your diseases at bay and yes I am vegan

    1. Dear Charmaine, I’m vegan as well. And surely, Dr Gabriel Andrade who is so concerned about xenophobia and it’s relationship to pandemics, must have some awareness of the relationship between violence towards non human animals and the human capacity for violence towards other humans. This includes violence on the scale of WW 1 and 2. The easier and more normalized we humans imprison, torture and slaughter (mass murder) other living, sentient beings by the billions then we’ve created a mindset that allows us to do the same thing to our fellow human beings .In general,I think vegans understand this better than people who eat an animal based diet. Failing to protect the dignity, rights and lives of innocent and vulnerable beings puts all humans at risk of violence as well as disease.

  6. Chinese are disgusting and should be just nuked by the us .. and you Gabrielle are fking stupid just don’t write again – dogs are human companions and the fact is you should be boiled and skinned alive – fucking CUNT

  7. As an animal lover involved in rescue for many years, try as I might, I cannot curb the feeling of karmic justice this outbreak infuses me with. As loathsome as it is to me, Asians do in fact have just as much right to eat dogs as Westerners do cows and other livestock, which, sadly, includes lambs and calves. The barbarity with which they dispatch them though, (and I have seen enough videos to rob me of sleep if I live to be 1,000), flies in the face of decency. Indeed, I get the impression they flaunt this barbarity as a snub to Western judgement of the practice. The laughter of the perpetrators as they skin, boil and blowtorch living, sentient beings to death in their desire for sweeter meat gives one the impression they are a people without compassion or mercy. Add their contributions to the extinction rate of endangered wildlife as they seek delicacies and harder penises, the fact many animals are consumed alive and it is hard to muster an ounce of sympathy for their current plight. Perhaps I am a monster for feeling this way but my hearts says, “score one for Mother Nature.” #sorrynotsorry

    1. I have also seen chinese people boiling turtles alive as well! Its just so heartbreaking when i hear the struggles of the turtle inside the boling pan. I really cannot honestly justify such an act of cruelty. And what’s more disturbing was this was in an ordinary household with middle class family.

      Though i did say that bats and eating of other wild animals should not be basis of discrimination, however i do have to point out bats have a unique immune system that allows for different viruses to exist within the bats body. Therefore eating of bats can definitely be create situations where different viruses can intermingle and create this type of illness. I personally cannot understand why anyone would want to eat bats but with knowledge that it can cause this type of diseases should surely be sufficient to place bans on eating such creatures??

    2. Nancy. God Bless You for saying everything I have wanted to say so admirably! I too believe they do it to spite the West. They also keep bears tied up so they can’t move and declaw them and take out their teeth. They then put a tube in their bile duct so they can get the bile to make themselves healthier. BS I say. I so hope the lowlife that do these things get wiped out. I have prayed to God for this and he is taking care of it!

  8. Yes, other cultures eat all kinds of animals. What is most disturbing and needs to stop is that the Chinese torture the animals that they kill for meat as they think this makes the meat taste better. This is inexcusable and they need to get out of the dark ages and have compassion for all animals. Boiling and blow-torching man’s best friend is just heart-breaking, cruel, and and anyone who thinks it isn’t probably just needs a good case of coronavirus to see the light…not to mention that what they eat in China is extremely unhygienic!!!!

    1. I am vegetarian and I don’t I can ever understand that why people eat animals , we have a lot given by earth to eat which has taste and purity , I know that even eating plants is not justified but at least they don’t bleed , I know it’s very argumentative and never ending thing but still why to kill those who can feel pain.Did we ever feel about that pain and where their sufferings will go!

  9. Darling your article is shit and try so much to be politically correct. Lets face it, its their karma. And soon you will have your karma for being politically correct wannabe.

  10. A population correction is not a bad thing for the earth. It has happened many times before with complete civilisations disappearing. Just a reminder humans aren’t in control. We will all face death. Where we go after that is what matters.

  11. fact: Exotic animals being stolen from the rainforest and throughout Africa are transported to Asia and slaughtered live in unsanitary conditions. Not only should this be a crime but it’s also just asking for an outbreak of disease. Don’t even get me started about stacking stolen cats and dogs off the street into tiny Cages and torturing them to increase the “chi” energy. Not only is this barbaric and cruel but it’s a recipe for disease. I’ve travelled throughout Asia and have a lot of love and respect for it’s culture but when a part of a culture is highly flawed, we intervene. I remember the Sars epidemic and guess what? It was caused by the same issue, exotic animals sold into the Live Market trade. When humans do horrible things to the natural world around them, nature always fights back. Let Sars, Coronavirus, etc. be our lesson that it is time to end the cruelty!!!!

  12. Greetings, Gabriel, great article. In Panama, a local lawyer made such a nasty comment in Twitter about the Chinese rapid construction of the new Wuhan hospital that it prompted the First Chinese Ambassador to Panama to reply this: “En toda mi carrera diplomática, no recuerdo haber oído en ningún lugar público una expresión de tanta ignorancia y crueldad”. The lawyer´s tweet was: “Siendo los creadores del virus es lo menos que podían hacer”.

  13. https://youtu.be/9GOnRuRUAz4

    Found this video of a snake and pidgeon hotpot… not very appetizing at all…. i think i m going to think about becoming a vegetarian after watching this lol. Also the absolute lack of hygiene is astounding…. for anyone whos got the stomach to watch….. von a petite

  14. they way killing those dogs+cats at the Yulin festival is heartbreaking. Why do you want to throw live animals to the boiling water or burn animals alive? its not a human act.

  15. Dr Gabriel Andrade is ignorant. Does he know the Chinese purposely torture animals by boiling them alive, burning them alive and cutting them up alive because they believe torturing the animal will make the meat taste better? I do not see any mention of this in the article. A person who went to a wet market in China said the cries of the mammals were unbearable and heartbreaking as they were being killed.

  16. First of all, we don’t stab and torture our livestock in front of a crowd while people jump in. The dogs are then boiled alive. The residents of Yulin are not far from serial killers. Check the pictures before you write such an ignorant article.

    1. Considering that meat consumption has been REPEATEDLY SHOWN to cause heart disease, diabetes, cancer and many others in the first world, while causing pandemics like this in the third world, you may not be far off the mark.

  17. On the contrary! The Yulin Dog Meat Slaughter-estival is the reason I gave up being politically correct or antiracist. Too many cruel, barbaric people in that shit hole of a country. Because I don’t have the means to build a nuclear arsenal of my own and the ability to deliver it…..I pray for massive earthquakes to rid the world of them.

  18. Honestly hope it stays in China, less Chinese means less animal cruelty and less exotic animal trade or poaching.

  19. This is why i don’t like chinese people they eat everything that walks and fly! How can you eat bat soup or those type of animals that bacteria inside their body! Because of them now everybody is suffering! One of the worst nation ever and the sake with the culture and tradition that’s not excuse for this crime!

  20. Good for you..i on the other hand have as much compassion for humans as they exhibit for animals. I see ALL human carnivorism as evil (in fact iit is the source of 90% of human diseases) …and condemn it in all races. Unfortunately China has never been big on sanitation and because of their filthy ways, combined with mistreatment , slaughter and consumption of animals, they have been the producers of plagues from time immemorial(certainly from before Marco Polo)…

  21. To be honest, as an Asian of thankfully other decent, people from mainland China make all other East Asians look bad, mainland Chinese are generally not likeable as a culture as many are rude and have no regard or care outside of themselves, so the negative association with the virus and mainland China is an easy assumption. Mainland Chinese should just accept that this is a regal toon of how their behavior gives them no allies. They have to institute a social rating score because the general populations so course and inhumane.

  22. Absolutely these people are to blame for this outbreak. How many civilised nations in the world have legalised wild animal markets that trade pangolins or other exotic animals…cheek by jowl with other creatures and people in fowl, disgusting, unethical conditions? These bloody people have brought this situation upon the rest of the world.

  23. I have seen some videos of boiling a dog alive to make food and many other disgusting animal cruelty that makes you sick to your stomach. How can you justify that? In this century how you can have such diet and their stupid government is worse than their people. How you cannot judge? This is karma and I hope it will wash them off this planet!

  24. Sounds like an article written by a Chinese person. The fact is that their poor dietary habits infected the world. After thousands dead or ill, the world has a right to speak out amd demand changes, whether you like it or not, and regardless of whether you may think it’s racist. You can take your political correctness and stuff it where the sun doesn’t shine.

  25. Funny how you don’t mention that the large majority of dogs that are eaten are pets that were stolen. You also don’t mention the fact that the vast majority of Chinese people don’t support eating dogs. It is not a cultural practice nor has it ever been. The fact that you would assume that the eating of dogs is purely cultural shows your own stereotypical beliefs. Dogs were first eaten because families were literally told to either give their dogs to the government or eat them because food was so scarce. Now food is abundant and there is no need to consume dogs. The whole argument for dogs being no different from cows, pigs, or chickens makes no sense. Dogs are far more intelligent than any of the previous animals. Plus, those animals have been specifically bred to serve as livestock. They live out their lives on a farm and are killed fast and painless in most farms. Those who aren’t humane, I whole heartedly object to. The fact of the matter is dogs have been domesticated to be loving companions to humans for thousands of years all over the world. P.S. you probably shouldn’t cite a man who tried to justify cannibalism as a source of reason.

  26. are reasonable any of this outcome is this dismissable. These people boil dogs and all other animals I live in boiling oil because the more an animal suffers, the more adrenaline and the better it tastes according to the Chinese people they are savages. They knew they were sick when they were traveling and we are all suffering more than humanity will ever comprehend. I cannot conceive of how you can advocate for any of this kind of behavior. What country are you from and what do you stand for?

    1. are reasonable any of this outcome is this dismissable. These people boil dogs and all other animals I live in boiling oil because the more an animal suffers, the more adrenaline and the better it tastes according to the Chinese people they are savages. They knew they were sick when they were traveling and we are all suffering more than humanity will ever comprehend. I cannot conceive of how you can advocate for any of this kind of behavior.

  27. Just discovered this article, hoping to contribute my own issues and POV on the topic. I’m from the Philippines and the main issue that many of us who work in wildlife and habitat conservation (I don’t formally work in this sector but have volunteered with various NGOs when I can) is that their insatiable appetite for these animals is literally financing the poaching industries in other parts of the world endangering the ecosystems of other countries. Pangolins in my country are dwindling in numbers because Chinese poachers come to our forests to hunt them illegally to sell back in wet markets on the Mainland. If this were purely an issue about cultural differences, I’d be able to at the very least agree with you intellectually. But it is causing practical harm to the environment, pillaged the natural wealth and resources of other countries, violates their sovereignty, and leads to the mutation of diseases that they export to the world and which smaller, poorer countries like mine are less able to manage. And quite frankly I am getting sick of opinions and articles that call for an understanding of China’s cultural practices without ever confronting the harm that these practices inflict on other nations and how to balance cultural sensitivity with accountability for those actions.

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