Ancient cures for modern pets
Feng Jianhua

After traveling on a bus for the entire morning, He Guoping and his wife finally arrived at the animal hospital of the Chinese Agricultural University, acknowledged as the best such facility in Beijing. In He’s arms was his beloved pet, a six-year-old dachshund.
At the hospital’s clinic of traditional Chinese medicine, the couple was met by Liu Zhongjie, a veterinarian experienced in the field. “Our dog was bouncy and clever. But the other day, it jumped onto the sofa after coming back home, only to find that it could not move its hind legs,” said the sad pet-owner. “The symptoms developed so quickly that it could not even stand up.”
He took his pet to smaller animal hospitals near his home, but to no avail. After being introduced by doctors there, he came to the well-known animal hospital as the last hope.
Liu’s diagnosis was that the dog suffered from a herniated spinal disc.
“How can my dog be cured?” He asked.
“Surgery in this case would cost at least 10,000 yuan, which your family can’t afford,” said Liu. “But this can also be treated by traditional Chinese medicine and your dog will be given acupuncture every other day.”
Liu said according to his clinical experience, pets suffering from herniated lumbar intervertebral discs can gradually develop paralysis in all legs without treatment. The Western therapy is both costly and unreliable. By contrast, he said the recovery rate from acupuncture treatment is above 80 percent.
He’s family was greatly relieved to hear that their pet could be cured. “I should have known better to come here earlier,” He said.
Growing pet population
According to a report in the Beijing Morning Post, the total number of pets in China has reached 100 million, nurturing a potential market worth 15 billion yuan. The same report estimated that the number of pets in China will reach 150 million by 2010 and the total sales volume of pet-related industries could reach 40 billion yuan. There has been a surging interest in having pets on the Chinese mainland, especially in big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
According to government statistics, Beijing had fewer than 10,000 dogs registered in 1995. This figure rose sharply to 50,000 in 2000 and over 400,000 in 2005. By the end of October of this year, the total had jumped to 550,000. If unregistered dogs and other pets are included, the number of pets in Beijing exceeds 1 million. If the average spending on each pet is 100 yuan every month, then Beijing residents are spending a staggering 1.2 billion yuan on pet care every year. And that figure is fairly conservative, considering that 100 yuan is not enough for a bath at a pet salon in Beijing.
The sharp increase in the pet population in the capital has triggered an expansion of the number of pet hospitals. In 1995, there were eight such facilities in Beijing. The number climbed to 30 in 2000 and to nearly 300 currently. And it is a lucrative business. A source from the China Animal Agriculture Association, who requested anonymity, told Beijing Review, “As far as I know, most pet hospitals can reach a profit rate of over 300 percent.”
With the increase in the number of pets and the unique therapy of traditional Chinese medicine in rehabilitating pets, traditional medicine for pets has become a vibrant industry in some places.
According to a report of the Guangzhou-based Yangcheng Evening News, a new type of training course for veterinarians of traditional Chinese medicine is being offered in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, including courses on massage and acupuncture. Hong Kong set up its first animal hospital specializing in traditional Chinese medicine in April, which is the first of its kind in Asia. The business of this pioneering hospital is particularly good, with average monthly revenue of over 300,000 yuan in the first four months.
“According to my clinical experience, the number of cases of curing pets with traditional Chinese medicine is on an obvious surge,” said Liu.
According to Liu, traditional Chinese medicine can cure a wide array of pet diseases. However, for various reasons, traditional Chinese medicine has mainly been adopted for areas where the results of Western medicine are poor, such as nerve dysfunction, sciatic nerve paralysis, chronic digestive diseases and liver and kidney diseases.
“Compared with Chinese medicine, Western medicine enjoys the advantages of convenience in preparing medicine and quick effects,” said Liu. “Therefore, who will use traditional medicine when Western medicine can cure the disease?” Among the nearly 300 animal hospitals in Beijing, many provide certain therapies using traditional Chinese medicine but only 10 have set up specialized clinics for that purpose.
Market is still small
As far as Liu Zhongjie is concerned, although his hospital has a traditional medicine clinic, it does not have its own traditional medicine pharmacy. The owners of sick pets just pay a small diagnostic fee and buy the medicine at regular pharmacies. “This is hardly sustainable considering that Chinese hospitals mainly rely on selling medicine to earn money,” Liu said.
“For the time being, animal hospitals are relatively small. The establishment of a pharmacy of traditional medicine requires hiring at least two people. If all the costs are added up, running a pharmacy of traditional medicine will probably become a financial burden of the hospital,” Liu added.
Besides the cost consideration for hospitals, people’s lack of awareness is another factor inhibiting the development of traditional medicine for pets. Liu Yanxia, a middle-aged Beijing resident, has kept a papillon dog named “Zhenzhen” for three years. However, three months ago, the usually active dog suddenly became sluggish. Its owner took it to a nearby animal hospital. Without giving the reason for the disease, the veterinarian prescribed a dizzying range of antibiotics. Yet Liu found that the more medicine the dog took, the weaker it became.
Without further delay, she took the dog to a bigger animal hospital. The veterinarian there told her that her dog suffered from liver failure and could have been cured if traditional medicine therapy had been adopted in the first place. But by taking too many antibiotics, the dog deteriorated so quickly that it became incurable. “I did not know that pets could be treated with traditional Chinese medicine. But now it is too late,” said Liu. Many pet owners like Liu have little knowledge of traditional medicine for pets. Some of them are curious about it but still don’t trust it much.
“Actually traditional Chinese medicine has its own limitations in curing pets. For example, the four basic traditional Chinese medicine diagnostic methods are to observe, listen and smell, ask about the patient’s background and take the pulse. Animals cannot speak and therefore it is hard for the disease to be accurately diagnosed. I am personally against the expansion of medical treatment of pets through traditional medicine,” said Hou Manzhen, a well-known private traditional medical doctor in Beijing.
However, Liu Zhongjie said Chinese people started to develop knowledge of treating cattle with traditional medicine as early as 7,000 to 10,000 years ago. About 3,000 years ago, China had professional veterinarians of traditional medicine. Around the 1840s, a comprehensive system of veterinary knowledge was developed in the country.
“I think veterinary traditional medicine has a very bright future,” said Liu, noting the rapid growth in the number of people studying veterinary traditional Chinese medicine abroad. He told Beijing Review that several of his university classmates have opened their own veterinary clinics of traditional Chinese medicine in the United States and Canada and earned a fairly handsome income.
Liu said although many traditional Chinese medicine colleges offer veterinary courses, many are limited to theoretical knowledge and don’t provide clinical practice opportunities. “I can say that the city has too few veterinarians of traditional medicine who can prescribe the correct medication,” said Liu. “Such a situation is quite worrisome.”

The Daily Mail-Beijing Review Articles (Exchange Item)


Global war on terror
Shahid Saleem Afzal

The question of a definition of terrorism has haunted the debate among states for decades. A first attempt to arrive at an internationally acceptable definition was made under the League of Nations, but the convention drafted in 1937 never came into existence. The UN Member States still have no agreed-upon definition. The lack of agreement on a definition of terrorism has been a major obstacle to meaningful international countermeasures. One state’s “terrorist” is another state’s “freedom fighter.” Terrorism is construed in many ways. According to a UN resolution of 1999, criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other nature that may be invoked to justify them. (GA Res. 51/210 Measures to eliminate international terrorism)
Terrorism was almost an unknown phenomenon till the incident of 9/11. Within days of the attacks, President Bush launched a Global War on Terror (GWOT). Afghanistan was occupied in 2001 and Iraq invaded in 2003. Thousands of lives have been lost on both sides all over the world and even after 5 years, the war still rages on.
While the Bush administration remains steadfast in continuing the war, the GWOT has also been subjected to criticism. The reason for invading Iraq had been justified to take out weapons of mass destruction which never existed. The US and Iraqi casualties in Iraq have been rising with many analysts saying that it has strengthened the forces of terror. It is also being said that loss of life in Iraq was far less in the Saddam era than it is today in a democratic Iraq. A sentiment is growing in the US that a timetable must be set for withdrawal. The campaign against the GWOT keeps changing, the present being that Islamic extremism represents the same type of threat as fascism did during the Second World War, and communism during the Cold War. This is a dangerous trend indeed and harms inter faith harmony, also undermining the GWOT. The cost of the war in Iraq is extremely high averaging eight billion dollars a week and a loss of 2600 soldiers. Iraq has become a second Afghanistan, a magnet and incubator for angry Muslim jihadis. With the changing global scenario, the US may have to find a way to extricate itself from this historic faus pax.
The situation in Afghanistan is also not very encouraging. The resurgence of the insurgency is being attributed to the setbacks the US has suffered in Iraq. The Taliban have largely recovered from their initial defeat and are giving a tough time to coalition forces. Taliban fighters have become encouraged by the domestic opposition some NATO nations face as they deploy in former Taliban strongholds previously patrolled by US forces. Moreover, the demand of NATO for additional forces has not been met.
Not all former Taliban members are terrorists. Many heeded a call by President Karzai to disarm and have assumed normal lives as members of Afghan society. Some even won seats in the September 2005 Afghan parliamentary election. More than 50% of the Afghan population is Pushtoon who feel alienated as they have been sidelined. The Karzai government mainly consists of Panjsheris or former Northern Alliance members who consider the Pushtoon their enemy, thereby fuelling violence.
Britain has also not achieved much in the GWOT.
A new poll has indicated that only seven per cent of Britons believe that the United States and Britain, Washington’s key ally in the military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq are winning the conflict against global terrorism. The country suffered its own 9/11-style attack on July 7 last year, when four Britain-raised suicide bombers detonated devices on three London Underground trains and a bus, leaving 56 people dead. British casualties are also increasing in Afghanistan, where British troops are playing a leading role in a NATO force battling Taliban insurgents in the volatile south of the country.
Afghanistan has turned from an anti-Al Qaeda operation into a classic 19th century colonial war against unruly Pushtoon tribesmen costing $2 billion monthly. Washington has totally failed to impose a viable regime in Kabul. Afghanistan is producing 80 per cent of the world’s heroin, and output has surged to unprecedented levels this year. Taliban and its nationalist allies have put foreign occupation forces on the defensive. The American public is not aware of the growing political, economic and military mess in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s tribal areas bordering Afghanistan have also been focus of violent activity. A military operation had been launched in these areas against Taliban targeting government officials and crossing over to Afghanistan to conduct raids on Coalition Forces and Afghan National Army. The Army operation yielded limited success. Lately, the Pakistan Army brokered an agreement with the tribes which is an important step in cutting off recruits to the Taliban.


Indo–US nuclear deal and threat of nuclear proliferation
Momin Iftikhar

The triggering of sanctions against two Indian companies by the US Government has amply underscored the risk of illegal transfer of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and the missiles related technologies and materials from India. Balaji Amines Ltd and Prachi Poly Products along with five other companies from Russia, North Korea and Cuba were accused of supplying banned equipment and technology to Iran. The consequent sanctions, which draw authority from Iran Non Proliferation Act 2000, were imposed on the Indian entities for violating the law aimed at preventing the proliferation of WMD and means of their delivery to Tehran. The announcement in the US Federal Register effectively banned US procurement from these firms and forbade the American enterprises from doing business with the sanctioned Indian companies. According to the Washington Post, officials claimed that the area of cooperation was Iran’s missile related technologies.
Sanctions are only a rap on the wrist for India since these are applicable only to the nominated entities having no bearing on the Indo – US relations or terms of their ongoing engagement. It is instructive to note that the sanctions were announced on 28 July; a day after the approval of the Indo – US Nuclear Deal by the American House of Representatives by an overwhelming margin of 359 – 68 votes. Bush Government chose not to divulge the imposition of sanctions prior to the vote so as to facilitate the smooth passage of the Bill. “The Bush administration deliberately deceived Congress by withholding information about these violations by the Indian companies before we voted,” said Massachusetts Congressman, Edward J. Markey. Deception or not but the implication of Indian firms in acts of proliferation has again served to challenge the rationale under which US has opened way for transfer of nuclear and missile technology to India without signing of the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The question of what drives the Indo-US nuclear embrace may demand an extended debate but the argument that is prominently quoted by the Indian officials is that India is a responsible state; it has kept its nuclear and missile technology from proliferation and there is no risk that it would resort to such practices in times to come – particularly in its interaction with Iran. In addition to the mantle of being a “Responsible State” the Bill passed by the US House implicitly cited weaning away India from the lure of Iranian energy as a supportive cause for Indo – US terms of endearment. “India’s full and active participation in US’ efforts to dissuade, isolate and if necessary, sanction and contain Iran for its efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction including a nuclear weapons’ capability,” it said. The logic of these citations is widely challengeable.
A scrutiny of the proliferation related sanctions by the US government, since 2003 reveals that at least seven Indian companies or persons have been sanctioned for indulging in proliferation activities. Sanctions were imposed on Protech Consultant Private Limited, an Indian firm, for supplying chemical and biological weapons related materials to Iran as well Iraq in 2003. Another Indian firm NEC Engineering Private Limited shot to notoriety by finding a mention in the British Government’s Iraq Dossier. NEC was the only company that was picked up by western Intelligence agencies for helping Iraq produce ammonium perchlorate in a plant at Al-Mamoun, a key ingredient in producing solid rocket propellants and providing banned chemicals to other suspect facilities like the Fallujah Chlorine Plant.