Tales of Tenth Grade

Amidst the devastating news of the coronavirus, many are finding solace in the idea that the Earth has been granted a much-needed reprieve. Emissions all over the world have significantly decreased, waters have begun to run clearer, and wildlife has been returning to areas they had previously abandoned. Yet this “good fortune” has not been extended to all wildlife. Lost amidst rising death tolls and news headlines cheerily touting “clearer water in the Venice Canals” or “lower emissions over China” are articles which detail the inhumanity of bear bile farms- bear bile farms which have been capitalizing off of the Chinese government’s decision to release a list of “cures” for the coronavirus. The industry for bear bile is one which is rather ancient- bear bile has been incorporated into traditional Chinese medicines since the 8th century, yet the farming of bears for their bile didn’t begin until the 1980s. The only way to obtain this bear bile, however, is throug...

     Throughout our history, the Chinese communist government has persistently dealt with issues of uprisings.  Many of these mini revolts have been controlled with strict censorship and other skeptical methods of detainment.  But, as over 2,000 people have died in China alone from the coronavirus, officials are enforcing mass quarantine zones, utilizing invasive technology, and censoring public outcries.  Because of this, the coronavirus has re-invigorated the efforts of many activist groups against the Chinese government and caused great economic downfalls.      In an effort to decrease the spread of this contagious virus, the Chinese government is quarantining entire cities as well as enforcing roadblocks.  This has a detrimental impact on the economy as valuable trade routes are lost and companies cannot import or export goods.  Additionally, some companies are forced to quarantine their own workers as the virus can strike sic...

Communist China is a region with a history of unjust detention and labor camps.  Only five years ago, China abolished the "re-education through labor", which forced people without trial to labor for years.  Now, as of August of 2018, a similar system is arising in the region of Xinjiang, located in Northwest China. According to the Chinese government, these new camps are focused on detaining minority groups such as Muslims, Uighurs, and Kazakhs in order to prevent temptations of radical Islam, and to help them escape poverty, provide job training, learn the Chinese language, and to become "modern people" who are useful to society.  Unfortunately, this propaganda is only part of the truth and there is still much more injustice to be revealed. The first event started in August 2018 in which an official target goal from the Chinese government was to send 100,000 citizens from Kashgar to the camps.  Kashgar is predominantly populated with the minority group of Uigh...

We, as a populace, are generally not very privy to many current events in our world. Lands are decimated, towns crumble to naught but ashes, cultures are wiped from existence, yet we continue about our lives unaffected and unburdened as a thousand miles assumes the distance of entire worlds. Even within our own country, we remain blissfully ignorant, unaware of the plight of our neighbors and fellow countries alike.  A ways across the sea lies a country known as China, a heavily populated region of East Asia in the throes of communism. Renowned for its production of countless goods and its strong economy, it is a country that wields great political power. Yet China is not just a country of communism, of factories and booming populations, but also of something the Chinese government likes to term a “re-education camp”. As innocent as a “re-education camp” sounds, its very name is a misnomer, belying the true torment occurring within these camps that bear striking r...