It is time for the West to disconnect from China. China has the West addicted to cheap products (and government borrowing). It is a form of emotional blackmail which prevents the governments of the West from taking a tougher stance (and a more realistic approach) to China’s lack of concern for animal welfare which is ultimately the reason why almost the entire world is suffering a crisis the likes of which has never been seen before.
The Communist Party of China (CPC) will not improve wild and domestic animal welfare in China of its own volition. They have already allowed live animal markets to reopen while the pandemic rages through the world’s countries killing tens of thousands and causing untold economic misery which will last for many years. China disrespects the West. They are cynically exploiting America and the UK.
We know with a great deal of certainty that the coronavirus pandemic started in a live animal market in China. There are 20,000 of them. They are grizzly places of cruelty where a lack of controls and regulation allowed Covid-19 to pass from animal to human. We are not sure of the specific animals but it is believed to be bats via pangolins.
The specific animal doesn’t matter. It is about the relationship of Chinese people in China to animals. There are millions of Chinese citizens who I am sure love animals and are concerned about their welfare but there are also far too many who are not and whose habits and culture, rooted in medieval times, has resulted in this world crisis. The laws of China allow this culture to subsist in the 21st century.
In reality China has no genuine animal welfare laws. This puts the country completely at odds with nearly all other countries. China has the world’s second largest economy because people are addicted to the goods churned out of China’s factories which pollute the air and rivers. That’s why the products are cheap. And the West accepts it.
The West is as culpable as China in respect of pollution and animal cruelty because the governments of the developed countries who import goods from China are accomplices. You still get cat and dog fur imported into America. The fur comes from domestic and semi-domestic animals who are brutally killed. We are accomplices.
The West will not have a better time than today and a better reason than Covid-19 to disconnect from China. America should manufacture their own goods as should the UK and other European countries. The goods will be more expensive which will be an improvement as less will be sold. Consumer activity in buying unnecessary items such as clothes which are worn once or twice is bad for the planet. We don’t need a throw away society. Back in the old days we repaired products such as washing machines. Now it is too expensive to do so as it is cheaper to buy a new one. This is clearly wrong. This throw away society pollutes the planet. There are clothes mountains in Nigeria where millions of discarded items of clothing end up.
There is a manic, voracious desire by consumers to buy e.g. the latest Apple iPhone made in China. It would be far better for society, animal welfare and the world at large if we repaired and upgraded existing iPhones and kept them for for longer. The world has to go into rehab and remove this addiction to retail therapy. If we do it’ll kill China’s economy at which point we can force the CPC to enact wide ranging animal welfare laws and laws concerned with environmental protection and human and animal rights. This will improve the world and stop another virus pandemic.
P.S. We need to change the world economic model from ‘growth’ to ‘sustainability’. Also the West needs to seek financial compensation from China over coronavirus. The losses are too high.
