6 Ways the Chinese Regime Caused China’s Food Safety Crisis

6 Ways the Chinese Regime Caused China’s Food Safety Crisis
Irene Luo
Updated:

In over a decade of unnerving food scandals, the Chinese people have seen almost every form of poisonous or fake product, from rice contaminated with cadmium to restaurant dishes drenched in sewer oil to salmonella-tainted tilapia fish.

An annual China Youth Daily survey in March found that out of various “quality of life” issues, the public worried most about food safety. From a list of problems like housing or the environment, 77.3 percent of the respondents identified food safety as their greatest concern.

So who is to blame for this burgeoning affliction plaguing Chinese society?

The obvious answer would be the unethical farmers, manufacturers, and food processors looking for a quick profit. But the crux of the problem goes much deeper. Over the past sixty years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has tyrannized the Chinese people and warped traditional values, replacing ethics with corruption, deceit, and self-serving materialism. With its disastrous policies, the CCP created a breeding ground for immoral commercial practices and lax food safety standards.

1. The CCP eliminated moral responsibility

The communists took over China based on an ideology of class struggle and violent revolution to establish a “dictatorship of the proletariat.” Traditional Confucian thought promoted moral values like benevolence, righteousness, propriety, faithfulness, and harmony, but the CCP obliterated these ideas with fiery, revolutionary rhetoric.

This poster, displayed in late 1966 in Beijing, shows how to deal with a so-called "enemy of the people," during the Cultural Revolution. (Jean Vincent/AFP/Getty Images)
This poster, displayed in late 1966 in Beijing, shows how to deal with a so-called "enemy of the people," during the Cultural Revolution. Jean Vincent/AFP/Getty Images
Irene Luo
Irene Luo
Author
Irene is the assistant producer for American Thought Leaders. She previously interned for the China News team at the Epoch Times. She is a graduate of Columbia University with a degree in Political Science and East Asian Languages and Cultures.
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