(CN) The bear necessities of democracy in China

[Guest guest]

Forwarded for AAF:

 

The Independent

By Clifford Coonan in Beijing

Published: 08 March 2007

 

A delegate at China's annual parliament, the National People's

Congress, has tabled a proposal to phase out the farming of black

bears for their bile, which is used in traditional medicine, saying

it is cruel to the 7,000 bears farmed around the country.

 

The bile is gathered in a gruesome fashion - it is collected as it

drips from a cut made in the bears' spleens - the focus of much anger

from animal welfare groups.

 

The plight of the black bear is just one of the topics up for

discussion at the NPC, a gathering of 3,000 delegates in the Great

Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square, which still bears the

hallmarks of old-style Cold War communism, with strong unanimity

behind any measures introduced by the Politburo and no room for

explicit dissent.

 

On the surface, the 12-day event is a talking shop, but it is also

the largest gathering of opinion in China and a useful forum for

gauging what's on the mind of the general populace, as well as for

forecasting what moves the government is likely to make over the

coming year.

 

With Chinese youngsters becoming too easily addicted to the internet,

the government has banned any new internet cafés opening this year

and lawmakers have called for stricter rules to keep teenagers away

from internet cafés.

 

One of the most significant bills up for debate will be China's first

law on property rights, which for the first time under the Communist

government, grants the same protection for state, collective and

private property. The aim is to create a better environment for doing

business and last year, it was pushed off the agenda by hardliners.

 

The notion of private property is already part of the constitution

but this new bill is a milestone because it will enshrine private

property rights in law. The delegates are still debating the wording

of the bill, which will be presented to the NPC today and it is

likely to be passed at the last session on 16 March.

 

Most believe it's unlikely to make a huge difference to the 800

million rural Chinese, increasingly irritated by having their land

taken away seemingly at will by greedy speculators, and by the

expanding wealth gap which leaves their incomes further behind those

of their compatriots in the rich eastern cities.

 

Not that the general populace will be allowed anywhere near the

Soviet-era Great Hall of the People.

 

Human Rights Watch has written to Premier Wen Jiabao saying China

should adopt reforms to strengthen rights protections.

 

Fu Xiancai, an activist for those displaced by the Three Gorges Dam

project, who was paralysed after an attack last year, is taking his

appeal for justice to the NPC. He has been trying to get compensation

for some of the million-plus people who had to move when their homes

were flooded by the dam. His demand for payment in full for those

resettled is a controversial one - after I met him at the dam in

central Hubei province last year, I was detained and interrogated by

police. A few weeks later, he was beaten up after meeting with police

in Zigui county and barely escaped with his life.

 

A police investigation said Mr Fu's injuries were self-inflicted, so

now he wants the NPC to hear his case.

 

" Although it has been eight months since I was attacked, I have not

completely lost my faith in China's judicial process, and pass every

pain-filled day in hope that justice will soon arrive, " Mr Fu said.

 

China's parliament will also unanimously back an 18 per cent rise in

the defence budget, something that has rattled China's neighbours,

particularly the island of Taiwan, which China considers a renegade

province and has threatened to re-take by force if it attempts

independence.

 

The yearly talking shop will be its last before the 17th Communist

Party Congress this autumn, when a sweeping leadership reshuffle is

expected as President Hu Jintao cements his grip on power.

 

Up for discussion: what's on the agenda at the National People's

Congress

 

* TOBACCO

 

Delegates have called for the tobacco industry to be curtailed and

for greater efforts to curb smoking.

 

* BEAR BILE

 

Sichuan delegate Zhou Ping wants to phase out the farming of black

bears for their bile, used in traditional Chinese medicine.

 

* SAME-SEX RAPE

 

A deputy is seeking a change in the law to severely punish those who

sexually assault victims of the same sex. As it stands, forced sodomy

or other same-sex sexual assaults are not crimes.

 

* RELIGION

 

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the NPC advisory body known as the CPPCC,

says religion has a strong role to play in promoting social and

global harmony.

 

* POLLUTION

 

The Prime Minister Wen Jiabao says China will close its dirtiest

steel mills and try to clean up polluted rivers and develop more

energy-efficient technology.

 

* FILM CENSORSHIP

 

China needs a law to restrict a " violent culture " in films and

internet to protect the youth from being corrupted, says delegate

Peng Fuchun. Films in China are not rated, but they are heavily

censored.

 

******************

 

Statement by AAF Founder and CEO Jill Robinson on NPC Member's call

to end bear farming

 

The Animals Asia Foundation welcomes the recent statements on ending

bear farming by National People's Congress member Madam Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping, a representative from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province

has proposed new legislation to protect bears, specifically to halt

the cruel extraction of bear bile for use in traditional Chinese

medicine from 7,000 endangered Asiatic black bears (Moon Bears).

 

Following her suggestion of an animal welfare law at the National

People's Congress meeting of 2006, Zhou Ping then visited the Animals

Asia Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu on two occasions last year

together with 20 other members of the NPC. Today we are delighted

that she has now raised an additional suggestion at this week's 2007

NPC meeting in Beijing calling for an end to bear farming.

 

Animals Asia has worked for many years to end this brutal industry in

China and Vietnam. Since October 2000, when we first signed an

Agreement with the Chinese Government to work towards ending the

practice, our campaign has seen 219 bears rescued from the barbaric

farms and brought to live in peace at our sanctuary.

 

The evidence gathered from these bears on our surgery table shows

that there is a despicable deceit on the part of the farmers, who

invent new methods of bile extraction. The new so-called " humane "

free-drip method is anything but cruelty-free, and causes chronic

suffering and an agonising death for the victims of this unnecessary

trade. The process is now considered unnecessary by many traditional

medicine practitioners who confirm that bear bile can easily be

replaced by cheap and abundant herbs and synthetics.

 

Animals Asia now offers Madam Zhou Ping our expertise and resources

to work with her and the relevant Chinese government departments in

an endeavour to help bears and people alike within the bear farming

industry. Together, we can bring this cruel and unnecessary trade to

an end once and for all.

 

Jill Robinson MBE

Founder & CEO

Animals Asia Foundation

 

For more information, please call Jill Robinson on + (852) 90958405;

or email jrobinson

www.animalsasia.org

[Guest guest]

Some hope on the bear front and a great tribute to Jill Robinson and her

team at AAF.

 

Chinny Krishna

 

aapn [aapn ]On Behalf Of Dr

John Wedderburn

Friday, March 09, 2007 1:27 PM

aapn

(CN) The bear necessities of democracy in China

 

 

Forwarded for AAF:

 

The Independent

By Clifford Coonan in Beijing

Published: 08 March 2007

 

A delegate at China's annual parliament, the National People's

Congress, has tabled a proposal to phase out the farming of black

bears for their bile, which is used in traditional medicine, saying

it is cruel to the 7,000 bears farmed around the country.

 

The bile is gathered in a gruesome fashion - it is collected as it

drips from a cut made in the bears' spleens - the focus of much anger

from animal welfare groups.

 

The plight of the black bear is just one of the topics up for

discussion at the NPC, a gathering of 3,000 delegates in the Great

Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square, which still bears the

hallmarks of old-style Cold War communism, with strong unanimity

behind any measures introduced by the Politburo and no room for

explicit dissent.

 

On the surface, the 12-day event is a talking shop, but it is also

the largest gathering of opinion in China and a useful forum for

gauging what's on the mind of the general populace, as well as for

forecasting what moves the government is likely to make over the

coming year.

 

With Chinese youngsters becoming too easily addicted to the internet,

the government has banned any new internet cafés opening this year

and lawmakers have called for stricter rules to keep teenagers away

from internet cafés.

 

One of the most significant bills up for debate will be China's first

law on property rights, which for the first time under the Communist

government, grants the same protection for state, collective and

private property. The aim is to create a better environment for doing

business and last year, it was pushed off the agenda by hardliners.

 

The notion of private property is already part of the constitution

but this new bill is a milestone because it will enshrine private

property rights in law. The delegates are still debating the wording

of the bill, which will be presented to the NPC today and it is

likely to be passed at the last session on 16 March.

 

Most believe it's unlikely to make a huge difference to the 800

million rural Chinese, increasingly irritated by having their land

taken away seemingly at will by greedy speculators, and by the

expanding wealth gap which leaves their incomes further behind those

of their compatriots in the rich eastern cities.

 

Not that the general populace will be allowed anywhere near the

Soviet-era Great Hall of the People.

 

Human Rights Watch has written to Premier Wen Jiabao saying China

should adopt reforms to strengthen rights protections.

 

Fu Xiancai, an activist for those displaced by the Three Gorges Dam

project, who was paralysed after an attack last year, is taking his

appeal for justice to the NPC. He has been trying to get compensation

for some of the million-plus people who had to move when their homes

were flooded by the dam. His demand for payment in full for those

resettled is a controversial one - after I met him at the dam in

central Hubei province last year, I was detained and interrogated by

police. A few weeks later, he was beaten up after meeting with police

in Zigui county and barely escaped with his life.

 

A police investigation said Mr Fu's injuries were self-inflicted, so

now he wants the NPC to hear his case.

 

" Although it has been eight months since I was attacked, I have not

completely lost my faith in China's judicial process, and pass every

pain-filled day in hope that justice will soon arrive, " Mr Fu said.

 

China's parliament will also unanimously back an 18 per cent rise in

the defence budget, something that has rattled China's neighbours,

particularly the island of Taiwan, which China considers a renegade

province and has threatened to re-take by force if it attempts

independence.

 

The yearly talking shop will be its last before the 17th Communist

Party Congress this autumn, when a sweeping leadership reshuffle is

expected as President Hu Jintao cements his grip on power.

 

Up for discussion: what's on the agenda at the National People's

Congress

 

* TOBACCO

 

Delegates have called for the tobacco industry to be curtailed and

for greater efforts to curb smoking.

 

* BEAR BILE

 

Sichuan delegate Zhou Ping wants to phase out the farming of black

bears for their bile, used in traditional Chinese medicine.

 

* SAME-SEX RAPE

 

A deputy is seeking a change in the law to severely punish those who

sexually assault victims of the same sex. As it stands, forced sodomy

or other same-sex sexual assaults are not crimes.

 

* RELIGION

 

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the NPC advisory body known as the CPPCC,

says religion has a strong role to play in promoting social and

global harmony.

 

* POLLUTION

 

The Prime Minister Wen Jiabao says China will close its dirtiest

steel mills and try to clean up polluted rivers and develop more

energy-efficient technology.

 

* FILM CENSORSHIP

 

China needs a law to restrict a " violent culture " in films and

internet to protect the youth from being corrupted, says delegate

Peng Fuchun. Films in China are not rated, but they are heavily

censored.

 

******************

 

Statement by AAF Founder and CEO Jill Robinson on NPC Member's call

to end bear farming

 

The Animals Asia Foundation welcomes the recent statements on ending

bear farming by National People's Congress member Madam Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping, a representative from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province

has proposed new legislation to protect bears, specifically to halt

the cruel extraction of bear bile for use in traditional Chinese

medicine from 7,000 endangered Asiatic black bears (Moon Bears).

 

Following her suggestion of an animal welfare law at the National

People's Congress meeting of 2006, Zhou Ping then visited the Animals

Asia Moon Bear Rescue Centre in Chengdu on two occasions last year

together with 20 other members of the NPC. Today we are delighted

that she has now raised an additional suggestion at this week's 2007

NPC meeting in Beijing calling for an end to bear farming.

 

Animals Asia has worked for many years to end this brutal industry in

China and Vietnam. Since October 2000, when we first signed an

Agreement with the Chinese Government to work towards ending the

practice, our campaign has seen 219 bears rescued from the barbaric

farms and brought to live in peace at our sanctuary.

 

The evidence gathered from these bears on our surgery table shows

that there is a despicable deceit on the part of the farmers, who

invent new methods of bile extraction. The new so-called " humane "

free-drip method is anything but cruelty-free, and causes chronic

suffering and an agonising death for the victims of this unnecessary

trade. The process is now considered unnecessary by many traditional

medicine practitioners who confirm that bear bile can easily be

replaced by cheap and abundant herbs and synthetics.

 

Animals Asia now offers Madam Zhou Ping our expertise and resources

to work with her and the relevant Chinese government departments in

an endeavour to help bears and people alike within the bear farming

industry. Together, we can bring this cruel and unnecessary trade to

an end once and for all.

 

Jill Robinson MBE

Founder & CEO

Animals Asia Foundation

 

For more information, please call Jill Robinson on + (852) 90958405;

or email jrobinson

www.animalsasia.org