Recently, because of a wide spread pig disease, China’s pork prices skyrocketed again, which helped push the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to the highest on record for the past 11 years.
Adding insult to injury, media revealed that pork from sick pigs floods the mainland’s markets, while the communist regime is raising expensive, high quality “Olympic Pigs” to accommodate foreigners and athletes.
Regarding the situation, The Epoch Times interviewed social economist Dr. Cheng Xiaonong and commentator Ma Xiaomin, a former journalist from a Shan'xi Province TV station. Both of them believe pork prices will continue to rise and the regime’s regulation won’t solve the problem. The price increase has already had a big impact on people’s daily life, which increases people’s dissatisfaction. This will have a negative impact on the 17th Communist Party Congress and next years Beijing Olympics.
Infected Pork Floods the Market
Since pork prices skyrocketed, mainland media often report that sick pigs’ pork has secretly entered the market. On October 2, a resident from China’s northeast city Jilin, told Epoch Times that since July, large amounts of infected pork entered markets in Jilin and surrounding areas.
The Jilin resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Epoch Times, “Local people say, ‘[safe] pork is almost non-existent, any pork on the market is from sick pigs.’”
According to this Jilin resident, on the October 1, China’s National Day, one could not find pig feet, a popular and inexpensive meat product in China, in any of Jilin City’s major markets.
Some meat shop owners have been infected by an unknown skin disease on their arms. Their skin color changed to red with white spots. Shop owners believe they were infected when selling pork from infected pigs.
Vendor ‘Ethics’ and Antibiotic Resistant Diseases
Commentator Ma Xiaomin said he often heard people discuss infected pork. Someone even digs up buried sick pigs and sells the meat on the market. Some vendors worry that a customer may find out the uncooked meat has a problem, so they pre-cook the meat and then sell it.
Ma said, “This summer, my friend brought me to a pig farm. I saw a lot of medicine on the farmer’s desk, all kinds of medicine for pigs. The farmer told me, currently, there is very limited profit in raising a pig, raising pigs on a large scale is even worse, because there are so many pig diseases.
“To make things worse, currently bacteria causing the disease have already developed antibiotic resistance because farmers use large doses and all kinds of antibiotics to cure the pigs and to prevent the disease. It is a vicious cycle.”
Regulation Is Not Effective
When asked to comment about the regime’s regulation of the situation, both Ma and Dr. Chen believe current regulation has no effect.
Ma said, “Pork prices increased quickly; in Xi'an City, the price increased from 7 to 8 yuan (approximately $US1) a kilo to 21 yuan (approximately $US3) a kilo. People are very unhappy.
“Although the government adopted a series of measures to regulate the issue, it is not effective in controlling the price increase. Wen Jiabao (Chinese Premier) has taken many measures since July, but I don’t see any effect.”
Dr Cheng said, “The communist regime has been drumming up how effective it would be to solve the problem by putting 30,000 tons of pork in the market, but it is actually more for propaganda rather than actual effect. The regime hopes the figure will deceive the Chinese people, ease social conflicts and calm down the complaints.”
Cheng said, “In urban areas, about 30 percent of high and middle income families might not mind too much about the pork price increase, but it is a big blow to the poor majority, and low income families.”
“The poor and low income social levels already have a lot of dissatisfaction towards the regime, since the pork price increase, their dissatisfaction has grown bigger. Every time, before the Party Congress, the regime always creates a ”unified,“ ”advanced,“ and ”harmonious“ atmosphere, but unfortunately, the 17th Party Congress encountered the pork price increase. People even express their dissatisfaction toward the Party Congress. That is not what the regime expected.” Cheng continued.
Cheng also said that the food price increases before the Beijing Olympics bring more pressure to poor and low income people. Now people have more complaints about this face saving project (2008 Olympics). “Peoples’ lives are getting harder, while the government is spending more money on the face saving project, it creates more dissatisfaction.”
‘Olym-pigs’—Privileged Group’s Safe Food Right
Facing international pressure about China’s export products’ safety issue, the regime disclosed to the media that it is raising high quality pigs at a high cost to satisfy meat demands for foreigners and athletes during the Olympics next year. Some pig farmers even told the media, it is their glory to accept this “political task.”
The regime wants to comfort foreigners by releasing such information, but on the contrary it creates a strong backlash among Chinese people.
Dr Cheng said, “The system of raising ‘Olym-pigs’ has existed for a long time, but in the past it only served high ranking communist cadres. The ’Olym-pigs’ news exposed the communist cadres’ food privilege. This kind of farm has existed in Beijing for a long time, it is not something new, it just expanded because of the Olympics.”
“In order to flatter the international society, the regime unconsciously made public its food privilege.” Chen added.
Ma Xiaomin said, “'Olym-pigs’ itself proves China has a serious food safety issue. The communist regime has no confidence that it can solve its general food quality issue. It also proves the regime only cares about saving face, but not people’s daily living.
“When more and more of these kinds of incidents are exposed, people will better understand that all problems in China are created by the regime. Their dissatisfaction will accelerate the regime’s disintegration.”
