Reply to Should mutilating children be a protected form of culture?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Guess what this story is really about:

[19th-century Chinese] community leaders say the [campaign against foot-binding] is an attack on their culture and religion.

“It’s as if the authorities are telling us that our traditions are wrong,” said [a Chinese citizen].

[Wu Ziang], secretary general of the [Chinese Cultural Ministry], was much more critical. “[Authorities] are now lecturing the [Chinese] about how we should treat our children, about the dangers of [foot binding], about how the [girl] feels pain,” he said. “It’s as if they think we are barbarians, that we are indifferent to how the child feels,” [u][b]Mr. Kramer[/b][/u] said.

Under [Chinese custom], [girls' feet] must be [bound] on [their second birthday].

“Making a decision about [foot binding] is very difficult for the family,” said [a Chinese woman], who has a [daughter]. “But I really think the state should not interfere.”

“It’s a very, very sensitive issue,” said a Justice Ministry official who spoke anonymously because the topic was so controversial. [The Chinese government], the official added, has to find a balance between principles: the rights of parents; and a person’s right to physical integrity.

Other countries are questioning [foot binding] as organizations for the protection of children insist that it is the state’s duty to shield children from physical injury.

[One country] recently proposed that [Chinese families] replace [foot binding] with a symbolic ritual. Some lawmakers also called for a minimum age of 18 so that parents could not decide. In [another country], the Medical Association has urged leaders to consider alternative rites that are not irreversible and are not painful for the child.

[Chinese families] are perplexed. They wonder whether these trends signal some kind of [anti-Chinese sentiment] that is concealed by medical and legalistic arguments. [/quote]

Oops, OP.  Not too many Chinese Jews....[/quote]

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