Học qua tin: Căng thẳng vì lễ hội thịt chó Trung Quốc

 

 

Căng thẳng giữa những nhà hoạt động xã hội vì động vật và người dân miền Nam Truung Quốc

 

Yulin, in southern China...

...a place that has garnered considerable controversy in recent weeks, ahead of an annual dog meat festival activists say should be banned. The event has found itself in the firing line of China's nascent animal rights movement. This year, online petitions to stop the practice have attracted over a million signatures, both from people inside and outside China.

Thousands of dogs are expected to end up on the chopping block this year, when locals get together to eat dog meat and lychees - two foods considered to have "hot" energy.

One man defended the practice.

(SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) YULIN RESIDENT, MR. LI, SAYING: "Is there not the logic, is there a law? You eat steak, if I told you not to eat steak would that be ok?"

But activists say it is not just eating the meat that is the problem.They claim the animals are often stolen from the owners, killed with poison or tortured to death. As the festival got underway on Monday, around 25 animal activists gathered outside the city's government offices.

They briefly unfurled their banners, but a group of unidentified men snatched them away. 

(SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) ANIMAL ACTIVIST, MAGGIE CHEN, SAYING:

"These cats and dogs are all stolen, can they just tolerate these animal and food safety crimes? We are protesting because they are not doing anything,..they are neglecting their duties. Instead, they took away our (banners)." While not a popular food, dog meat is consumed enthusiastically in several parts of China.

Vocabulary (bấm vào đây để xem cả nghĩa tiếng Việt)

Y Vân (theo Reuters)

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