Chuck Grimes wrote:
> That such silliness moves the
> bowels of US trade policy, when issues like the vast sea of foriegn
> exploited labor go by un-noticed seems to say more about what
> government policy really does, than is attributabled to the secret
> powers of a mysterious dog lobby.
>
> If China is willing to defend its cultural heritage and integrity to
> put dog skin on plastic parkas to some indefatigable end, and the
> United States is willing to scream in the name of all humanity against
> such barbarism, then I say, go it for boys. Let's have a trade war.
>
> Really Henry, you must be joking.
>
We do have a cultural gap. I AM joking. But not in the way you frame it. The protest did not come from the Chinese side. There is no dog fur market inside China. The importation was done by Americans importers. China uses the revenue from exporting useless dog fur to support education and public health. Is that too trivial for you? Try and think like a political economist. The only part of your post that makes sense is exactly my point: " That such silliness moves the bowels of US trade policy, when issues like the vast sea of foreign exploited labor go by un-noticed seems to say more about what government policy really does." That is the only point I was making, although not being American, I would have stayed away from referring to bodily functions. This is a perfect illustration of a cultural gap. We are not communicating at all, you are too busy attacking. It is a typical American attitude, bomb first , talk later but only if bombing does not work. "I say, go it for boys. Let's have a trade war," the Grimes Doctrine. US foreign and trade policies are in fact framed in silly slogans that have righteous rings only to American ears but are totally incomprehensible and meaningless to Asians and others foreigners. You confuse culture with cultural heritage and I don't think you know the meaning of the word integrity as applied to this issue. Being a Marxist is not a license to be a cultural imperialist. The US exports silly sugar brown water called Coca Cola to China. Is that your idea of integrity? Why don't you talk about the cheap toys sold in the shopping mall that are made by Chinese labor at slave wages? Instead, the shopping mall makes you think of your elitist postmodern cultural development metaphor. You wouldn't recognized a marxist revolution if it runs you over like a truck. Before you launch your cruise missiles, have you considered that I know a thousand times more about your country than you do about mine? The statistical probability of you talking out of ignorance concerning US/China issues is likely to be a function of that disparity.
You pontificated: "Whether Chinese culture considers dogs nothing more than stew puppies or a fur resource seems a little irrelevant." Why? How is dog skin different than pig skin? You miss the point point because you are always staring only at your own cultural navel. Other people's culture is very relevent.
Henry C.K. Liu