Food

I am much impressed by China, perhaps not least because I met my wife in Hong Kong although admittedly that was while HK was still British. But to read of the plan to revitalise the Great Wall, a very much admired structure, was wonderful. I think that if the USA was to do something similar, rather than just build a bare fence, to "cut-off" Mexican immigrants then it would receive less criticism.

Not that there are no preconceptions and baseless (?) thoughts about the Chinese eating habits, most expressed of course in the rest of the world as they come to terms with the menus in Chinese restaurants world wide. I remember years ago in Maiduguri (north Nigeria) the only trustworthy source of food was the Chinese restaurant. And yet the menus do reflect the tastes of the host country to some extent; was not California the birth place of Chop Suey, for instance.
In spite of this there is a continuing impression that pets are a staple diet, exemplified by this cartoon. I feel that in UK any fears of losing one's beloved pet have reduced as we become a more diverse society. I fear that the States have a long way to go in the more central areas, away from the cosmopolitan centres, and this seems to be proven by the irritation displayed by this sign outside a Chinese restaurant.