The clashes between animal rights activists and people who support eating dog meat at the summer solstice festival in Yulin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, reflect the lack of mutual respect and understanding between the groups, which is key to resolving conflicts, says an article on gmw.cn. Excerpts:

The dispute over eating dog meat has been going on in China for years and led to the recent violent farce in Yulin. The clashes left a supporter of the dog-meat-eating group injured and prompted some people to consume more dog meat just to prove their point.

Eating dog meat is neither illegal nor unethical. Slaughtering animals such as dogs for food has nothing to do with social norms, so animal rights activists should not use it as a moral weapon to attack people who eat dog meat.

Social norms demand that people care for humans and animals both, and tolerate the choice of those who disagree with them in their culinary choice. But in this age of the Internet, when everyone is free to voice their opinions, some people tend to impose their ideas on others and resort to violence "in the name of love for animals".

To avoid such unnecessary conflicts, people should learn to respect each other's choice as long as it is not illegal or unethical.

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(China Daily 06/27/2014 page9)