If a Chinese photojournalist had expressed similar sentiments to Brown, would terroir have taken issue with them? I personally don’t feel the ethnic background of a whistleblower, nor their knowledge of the relative merits of TCM (most of which is rooted in totally sustainable herbalism, and not attacked in Brown’s reporting), has any bearing on his findings. He hasn’t plucked his reports out of thin air – they are supported by countless biologists and environmental groups, of countless creeds and ethnic backgrounds, in most countries.

To call Brown ethnocentric, and attempt to discredit his research by making value judgements on his value judgements, is to dodge the far more uncomfortable and far less semantic debate he is trying to force us to have.

Should we, sometimes, sacrifice “culture” for the sake of the biosphere?

True, “culture” creates the market for animal parts. A market which now, unlike during the reign of the Yellow Emperor, involves a complex industrial chain and the slaughter of rare and endangered species en masse. Whether or not this is an expression of culture is immaterial when the damage is irreparable and permanent.

TCM was never designed to serve the needs of 1.3bn (much less 7bn and counting), and thus the issue here isn’t its relative effectiveness so much as its impact on the wider environment. Panda brains might cure cancer, or albino narwhal tusks hold the secret to immortality – but nobody is keen to start laboratory testing.

No tradition should be allowed to stand unquestioned. No researcher, regardless of ethnicity, should have their research dismissed out of hand.

Cruelty to animals is wrong. If that cruelty is culturally entrenched, then it’s a cultural fault that should be spoken out against. It doesn’t matter who speaks out against it, be he “white middle-class” or otherwise.

Anthony, I suggest you write a rebuttal, because I’m mostly in agreement with the other comments — if BJC increasingly publishes articles like this, its quality is deteriorating. I’m not interesting in editorials that remind me of freshman year English.

Morally Chinese people do need to grow up. Sorry Tao. Perhaps not adopt the wests morals but at least stop doing shit like watching women get beat and throwing shit at animals.

Now if you’ll excuse me I need to shit in my own pool, when in rome eh?

A British officer in India had this reaction to the Indian practice of Sati (widow-burning):

“Be it so. This burning of widows is your custom; prepare the funeral pile. But my nation has also a custom. When men burn women alive we hang them, and confiscate all their property. My carpenters shall therefore erect gibbets on which to hang all concerned when the widow is consumed. Let us all act according to national customs.”

Sati has some Hindu roots and some say it actually glorified the woman. Possibly, but some things just don’t belong in the 21st century.

nah. Judging from your response, it looks like the term “white middle class” only refers to the people who care to be offended by the term “white middle class”.

Fun tip: whole wheat bread is more nutritious than Wonder.

Traditional Chinese who follow traditional Chinese homeopathic magic = ignorant
The Westernized overseas Chinese who don’t believe in said magic and reach for an aspirin whenever they feel like a character in a pharmaceutical commercial = they whom I(ck) judge friend.

Doesn’t leave much wiggle room. Based upon your large-scale willingness to nullify a whole culture, you might as well say:
“Anyone who runs is a V.C.! Anyone who stands still… is a well-disciplined V.C.!”