An appeal from 1 Chinese person to 1.4 billion
Fellow activists:
If you agree with what I wrote below and think that it will make a
difference, please forward it far and wide so that it will reach as many
Chinese people around the world as possible. Thank you.
Anthony Marr.
An Appeal from one Chinese person to 1.4 billion
Dear fellow Chinese people of various nationalities (mine is
Canadian):
Now that the Beijing Olympics is looming over China, there are
several things that all Chinese people should know about our reputation
in the eyes of the world. I have lived in Canada for over 40 years. My
first language is Chinese (Cantonese), but I use English a hundred times
more. Almost all my personal friends are Caucasian. I am one of the very
few people of Chinese descent who are embraced whole-heartedly by the
international wildlife preservation, animal rights, animal welfare, and
environmental movements. I have written a book (Omni-Science and the
Human Destiny - see book section of
www.HOPE-CARE.org) and it is in English. I have given hundreds of
speeches in four countries on three continents, and they, too, are
almost always in English. I may even talk in my sleep in English. My
point here is that I know the Western view point intimately, and have
seen more of the Chinese image in the eyes of the world than I care to
see. And, like any other civilization on Earth, we Chinese have a lot to
be proud of, yet a lot to be ashamed of, and certainly, a lot that we
must change.
To be proud of:
1. Our long and continuous history, which, in comparison to the
war-plagued European history, looks almost benevolent and benign.
2. during the three centuries between 1400 and 1700 AD, the
Inquisition burnt up to 9 million people at the stake (lowest estimate
is 450,000), mostly women, almost always after severe and crippling
torture for forcing confessions, whose properties were then confiscated
by the Church, making it astronomically wealthy. I can say unequivocally
that the Inquisition, pertaining to Christianity, is the most evil
movement in human history, religious or not, by far, by which human
history as a whole will forever be tainted, as it is being tainted by
such modern forms of savagery as the Canadian commercial seal hunt which
kills over 300,000 baby seals a year for their fur. Neither the
Inquisition nor the seal massacre were/are of Chinese origin, nor did/do
they occur in China. The Chinese may take some passive pride in this.
3. Western people hold the Chinese students at Tiananmen Square
(1989) in high esteem, and Wong Wei-Lin, the lone man who halted a whole
column of tanks, whose fate today is unknown, is one of their greatest
heroes and an icon of the Power of One.
4. Chinese people are generally considered to be disciplined,
industrious and smart (though I have a couple of times proven them
wrong!).
5. Chinese martial arts rule the kung-fu movies popular in the West
(though, knowing some kung fu, I still got beaten up by a white hunter).
To be ashamed of:
1. The Chinese government is notorious for their human rights abuses
both at home and abroad (e.g. Tiananmen and Tibet).
2. The Chinese people are notorious for their unusual and cruel
treatment of animals - caged bears (for bile-tapping), dog/cat torture
in the dog/cat meat industry (+ Korea), the cat/dog fur industry,
massive dog slaughter as a means of rabies control, use of endangered
species parts (e.g. tiger bone, rhino horn, bear gall) for medicine, the
shark-finning industry, the hideous deviancies such as consuming live
monkey brains (does this still happen?)..., which gives the appearance
that the Chinese people are devoid of kindness and compassion.
3. Although most of the tiger poaching and rhino poaching and
shark-finning and seal hunting are done by non-Chinese people, the
Chinese people is nonetheless seen at least as being responsible for
being the root cause of the problem by demanding such products.
4. And Canadian seal fur. Even though the European countries have one
after another declared their decisions to ban Canadian seal products,
China is fast becoming the major market of Canadian seal fur and, shame,
shame, shame, seal penis. This gives the appearance that China is always
at odds with the rest of the civilized world - on the wrong side of the
fence.
5. Once upon a time, peaking during the Ming Dynasty when a huge
Chinese armada of five-masted vessels made landfall in Africa, China was
considered the most advanced civilization in the world. Since then,
China has suffered humiliating defeat after humiliating defeat. By the
20th century, China had fallen.
To change:
Now, we're making a mark in the world again, but what kind of a mark
do we want it to be? Currently, it is one of economic prowess. But is
the economy the be all and end all of all values? Not to me. Compassion
is much closer to the heart of the matter.
Do we Chinese people have compassion or not? I know as a Chinese
person myself that I do. How about you? Imagine a new China where
compassion is the law of the land. Imagine further that China leads the
world in compassionate matters. Wouldn't that be something.
How many years or centuries are we Chinese people currently behind
the times in the field of compassion? As soon as we have taken the lead,
we shall know.
Anthony Marr, founder Heal Our Planet Earth
(HOPE - www.HOPE-CARE.org)
Also see:
Re: An appeal from 1 Chinese person to 1.4
billion - 25 May 2007
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