The Yulin Dog Meat Festival, a topic that always appears around the summer solstice every year and cannot be avoided, has once again become the focus of public opinion.
On one side, there is strong resistance from dog lovers, while on the other side, some local businesses continue to operate. The two sides go back and forth like this, and the sense of conflict is extremely abundant.
The tug-of-war that took place this year showed a very interesting phenomenon. On the streets of Yulin, almost all signboards with the word "dog", menus with the word "dog", and signs with the word "dog" were blocked, daubed, or even eradicated.
What is going on?
What is reflected behind this is actually a subtle game between traditional customs, pressure from public opinion, and official attitudes.
Folk custom or official holiday?
Yulin Dog Meat Festival Is it an officially recognized holiday?
According to a statement issued by the Yulin Municipal Government under heavy pressure, government departments at all levels have never held any form of the so-called "Summer Solstice Lychee and Dog Meat Festival" activities, and various non-governmental organizations have also not held such activities.
The clear official statement shows that this is a statement made by individual businesses and people, and it is also a form of local summer solstice gathering.
However, during the on-site visit, it was found that this "folk saying" has a considerable local market.
Miss Liu, who had lived in Beiliu, Yulin since she was a child, recalled. The act of eating lychees and dog meat during the summer solstice. In fact, it is something that has only become popular in the past ten years.
Interestingly, an official from the autonomous region revealed to reporters that the government and Yulin City have decided not to participate in the "hosting" activity. The main reason is that public opinion from all walks of life has brought great pressure.
Slaughtering disappeared on the street, and the word "dog" on the sign was covered
What visible changes have taken place in Yulin, the center of the public opinion storm?
The most intuitive point is that Dogs slaughtered in the street behavior has been banned.
When you walk on the dog meat street, you can notice a strange situation. Although the diners are eating deliciously and the bosses are selling enthusiastically, all the things related to the word "dog" have been disposed of.
When you go to the store sign, to the poster, to the menu, wherever the word "dog" is written, it is blocked, smeared, covered, or even eradicated.
On Jiangbin Road, there is a shop called "Chen Ji Xin He Shou Crispy Meat House". In front of this shop, the clerk said without any secret that the shop sign had just been changed and the word "dog" was removed. The purpose of this was to deal with the "troublesome behavior" of environmentalists.
It is said that this is an association between local individuals and private businesses, going door to door to carry out work and completing work in stores. In the name of being allowed to self-manage the association, the business is urged to take action to achieve results, with the purpose of avoiding the visual irritation of dog lovers.
Merchants are full of confidence and prices follow market trends
Even in the face of unprecedented pressure from public opinion and administrative intervention, judging from the reactions of merchants, business does not seem to have been fundamentally affected.
The owner of the "Gao Lao Shop" on Xinmin Road, while constantly cutting and weighing the meat with his hands and feet, declared with confidence that the Yulin Dog Meat Festival will never be cancelled.
According to him, on weekdays, the store can accommodate thirty to fifty tables, but there will be even more people on the summer solstice.
Master Zhang, who works as a taxi operator, confirmed the popularity of the Dog Meat Festival from another perspective. The price of dog meat during the summer solstice period is at least 70% higher than on normal days, and sometimes the price is almost double.
In the local area, there are many people who were originally diners and turned into merchants. Their attitude towards this so-called "folk festival" is extremely determined. The confidence shown by this already determined mentality is in stark contrast to the official statement that they want to "clear away" their relationship.
The game between traditional customs and industrial packaging
Behind this conflict, there is a story hidden, which is about "tradition" and "packaging".
Someone working in the media pointed out that if we talk about the tradition of eating dog meat, the history of dog meat in Huajiang, Guizhou is even longer. It started in the Three Kingdoms and has been going on for thousands of years.
In comparison, this custom in Yulin is considered a “rising star”.
More importantly, the local government is not completely unrelated to the festival.
Back in 2010, the second Yulin Pharmaceutical Expo was specifically moved “advance” from the second half of the year to June, and elements such as “healthy food” were added. In that case, the expo date happened to cover the summer solstice.
At that time, the "Yulin Evening News" had a report with the title: Yulin Pharmaceutical Expo held a food festival for the first time, and the Lychee and Dog Meat Festival turned out to be a highlight.
This shows that before the pressure of public opinion came, the local government planned and operated the "Dog Meat Festival" as an industrial card out of certain intentions.
Just as time has passed, the environment has changed. Now, we are facing great controversy, and our attitude has undergone a huge change of 180 degrees.
A rational look at the conflicts behind festivals
around Yulin Dog Meat Festival The conflict is essentially a collision of two values.
On the one hand, some people think that eating dog meat belongs to personal dietary habits and freedom, while on the other hand, some people elevate it to the level of animal welfare and civilization.
A dog lover in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province told this story that in 2011, the Dog Meat Festival in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province was permanently canceled. This is a representative example.
There are organizations such as the China Small Animal Protection Association, which have also repeatedly called for the cancellation of the event. They feel that there is a serious phenomenon of dog theft, trafficking and killing, and there is a black industry chain.
In the case of Yulin this year, the government adopted a "cooling down" and "cutting" approach - not to implement official endorsement, but it did not forcefully prohibit it. Instead, it resorted to covering signs and prohibiting slaughter on the streets to ease conflicts.
Whether such a "word game" approach can satisfy all parties is still a big question mark.
For us ordinary people, while respecting our eating habits and paying attention to animal welfare, this may be a more rational attitude towards this kind of conflict.
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