[NY Times]A Plea to Shun the Ivory Trade From Yao Ming

EDIT: I see this has been responded to ad nauseum above...

If it's about money, the root of the problem is the consumer.
Just like people who pay $3 per water bottle when they have a clean tap. Sometimes they're just too comfortable to be self-aware.

 

what a poorly worded title

 

Damn Yao's got himself pretty occupied... seems like a comeback won't be possible

 

its not easy to convince china to stop buying up ivory. A lot of chinese folks will continue purchasing because they dont' know better. A large part of china is still rural and people in villages don't always get great education. They will consume what others are claiming is useful. I highly doubt the new generation who grew up with internet and a good education will go around buying elephant tusks but it'll take a long time for this message to penetrate into the rural country side where folklore and superstition is incredibly strong.

 

Not sure about your analysis. Ivory is expensive so affordability is limited to mid to high income earners. These folks would have access to tv, news, internet, etc. So the rural folks are the least of the worries.

Although I agree that it will be a difficult task but I don't see it being more difficult than shark fin soup issue. You have to understand how China looks at Yao Ming - he is almost a god to them. If he can affect 10% of the chinese population, that will be 100M less people wanting to buy ivory.

 

actually one of the things chinese ppl often do is their children send money to their parents(many of whom still live in the countryside) and they will then use money to purchase what they want.

though i do see your point. many high income earners can be completely uneducated. They just simply struck it rich with a business and actually have very little formal education.

 

I might get burned by saying this, but I think Yao is apart of the bureaucracy that maintains China's social cast system much like India. Chinese farmers at best can only hope to achieve a sweat job position at a Nike factory or whatever. China needs to come apart like the Soviet Union. Yao and his buddies put on some fake attempt at appeasing the uneducated but dude has billionaire buddies that keep things the way they are in China and most parts Asia. I'm sorry but I'm not a fan of Yao...

 

What are you talking about, esp regarding Yao?

And china actually has one of the highest social mobility? which had been the case since the ancient times

You wonder why asian parents have a habit of pushing kids to study?

 

you are either ignorant, uneducated or have mental issues. Signature material

 

How about this. There are enough ppl doing that work of calling attentjon to human rights abuses in china. While such causes are always important, most of the time the info out there are misinformed or twisted.

Imo more important would be calling attention to human rights abuses in or by USA. I wonder why it's not more popular? This actually affects the whole world a lot more. Tons of ppl are dying, in addition to just jails (while overcrowded).

Just imagine if such cause can be accepted. This would be true democracy.

 

When I was a kid I actually thought ivories can regrow on an elephant, or at least it won't die from it, as I've seen many elephants without "teeth". Maybe likewise for rhinos.

Still, is it possible to humanely take teeth from animals through anesthesia? If the trade is profitable, can it support a system of artificial ivory farm with domesticated animals?

 

Not really at all. I think there was a documentary where Jackie Chan talks about it. Let's get real here, a rural Chinese person social mobility is from the farm to a sweat shop in a bigger city There's no way to deny this no matter how you spin. While Yao's campaign is noble, he doesn't consider that maybe this type of illegal poaching might be the one of the few lucrative economic opportunities for these types of people. He speaks from a "Rich" man's podium.

 

Sorry it's OT so I leave it short:

From just a few sec of googling, worldbank.org says china reduced extreme property by half in eleven years, that is 400 million ppl since 1990, 14 years ahead of the target date 2015. Um.. Ok?

And I've heard tons of big timers who are former farmers. 1sec googling leads me to some articles about the billionaire Liu brothers. They seem to have tons of self-made billionaires regardless of background.

I think you've mistaken about the rural Chinese problem. I don't think the ceiling discriminates anyone there. The perceived opportunity is precisely the problem, that too many young rural population move to cities where they don't get the benefits of local governments.

I think ppl identify with Yao alright, ppl in general wanna work hard and succeed, esp coming from humble backgrounds, which Yao embodies.

I don't think too many ppl are involved in the ivory trade. It's just an old timer luxury that can be replaced by new items associated with luxury. Or if this trade can sustain without killing animals, then that could work too.

 

Wait and wait. Are you supporting the illegal poaching because it provides economic opportunities to the poor people?

Or perhaps I have misunderstood your incoherent rant?

 

Dude, with all due respect, this opinion of yours is simply crazy. Not that there is a class system in China, as there is literally all over the world to one degree or another, and not that the upward mobility of huge numbers of rural Chinese is limited and that they are exploited, although again, that sort of thing happens in many other countries. What is wacked is this - "While Yao's campaign is noble, he doesn't consider that maybe this type of illegal poaching might be the one of the few lucrative economic opportunities for these types of people. He speaks from a "Rich" man's podium."

What does that even mean? One can't have an unbiased opinion if one is "rich?" And this comment is crazy - "illegal poaching might be the one of the few lucrative economic opportunities for these types of people." These types of people? I'm not sure if you are insulting Africans, African poachers, or saying that Yao is interfering with their attempt to make a living by wiping out entire species from the planet. Most likely? All three.

I seriously don't get you, and I am far from a "Chinese apologist," as those who have spent any time in D&D could tell you. The only thing you got right is that Yao is noble.

 

I hope you do not support the robbery business too for the reason that it provides economic opportunities for the poor people to get rich.

I really hope I have misunderstood you because what you have said is beyond stupid.

 

If that was a troll post, i think he's on a high creatively. How can one come up with every single point twisted?

 

Perhaps he is an attention w**** who seeks attention by saying crazy stuffs? *shrug*