The Editor,
Re: "Wong stands by decision to eat shark fin," News, Oct. 17.
How can a person who is so completely ignorant of the rest of her constituents be in a position like that?
As a person of Chinese ethnicity, I definitely do not agree with her or David Chung. I'm sick and tired of their argument that this is somehow a wonderful part of our heritage and tradition (so was foot binding for women).
Ms. Wong, I do not feel you are fit to represent us. As I became an adult and understood that some of these foods came from unsustainable or illegal harvest methods, I stopped supporting it.
That's the bottom line. How can being Chinese mean partaking in a food or activity that has ties to illegal or immoral practice?
Mr. Chung, I challenge you to provide your soup for testing. That's the right thing to do. If you want to "defend your rights" to eat shark fin, then at a minimum make sure they came from a source that was legally harvested.
The Feds have cut many staff in all departments. It is almost impossible to catch illegal items through the various border crossings and ports.
As other have mentioned, even if the inspectors were there, they don't have the resources to test every sample. We have to take responsibility for our actions and how they affect others.
What's next, bear gallbladder smoothies? This is not about personal rights anymore. This planet has a carrying capacity that we have far exceeded.
We cannot keep defending these types of antiquated ideals anymore. There are other ways of showing "gratitude" that doesn't involve hacking animals apart and leaving them to die.
Thomas Loo Richmond
