Jottings from the Granite Studio

Considering Yao Ming’s fame in China as the “Basketball Confucius” (to Larry Bird’s “B.B.J.”), I have wondered just how the biggest celebrity in China might use his fame…well, he’s off to a good start. NYT reports this morning that Yao has teemed up with Li Ning and singer Li Huan to speak out against the widescale slaughter of sharks for their fins. Claiming to be “friends with the animals” Yao said he would never again consume the expensive and oddly popular dish.

NYT notes that the Chinese mainland press buried the story and I’m pessimistic that your average Chinese businessman out entertaining his clients is going to stop and ask himself WWYMD before ordering a dish guaranteed to boost his 面子.

Animal rights is a new concept in China. It’s still common to see night markets reminiscent of a zoo as interpreted by Jack the Ripper: deer sitting in stalls with their front legs broken to keep them from running off, live chickens hung by their feet, hundreds of turtles stacked in turgid buckets. The recent public outcry over the decision to allow foreign hunting groups to bid for the right to hunt China’s endangered species forced the government to indefinitely postpone the auction. A similar outcry followed the recent dog extermination in Yunnan (in particular against the way in which the dogs were dispatched). Taken together, it would seem that China’s emerging middle class is finding animal rights something of a “safe” cause to pursue. The NYT article on the dog extermination campaign even suggested many in China were linking the demand for animal rights with criticism of the government repression and lack of accountability. I’m not holding my breath until Yao Ming trades in his current job as 国宝 and rallies behind that flag.

Now if only the middle class would have the same feelings toward “Ayi’s”….