January 20, 2014
ASIA / PACIFIC
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 5
China destroys six tons of ivory in landmark move
ILLEGAL IVORY. Workers, background, destroy
confiscated ivory in Dongguan, southern Guangdong
province, China. China destroyed about six tons of
illegal ivory from its stockpile in an unprecedented
move wildlife groups say shows growing concern
about the black market trade by authorities in the
world’s biggest market for elephant tusks. (AP
Photo/Vincent Yu)
By Kelvin M. Chan
The Associated Press
ONGGUAN, China — China
destroyed about six tons of illegal
ivory from its stockpile in an
unprecedented move wildlife groups say
shows growing concern about the black
market trade by authorities in the world’s
biggest market for elephant tusks.
Authorities displayed a pile of
ornaments, carvings, and tusks to
reporters, diplomats, and conservationists
before feeding them into two crushing
machines. Tusks that were too long were
cut up into smaller chunks by workers
with circular saws before they could be
pulverized.
Forestry and customs officials organized
what they said was the country’s first
large-scale ivory destruction in Dongguan
in southern Guangdong province, where
much of China’s ivory trade is focused.
Conservation groups say China is the
world’s biggest market for ivory.
Demand is fuelled by rapid growth in the
world’s second biggest economy, which has
created a vast middle class with the
spending power to buy ivory carvings
prized as status symbols.
Ivory can fetch up to $2,000 per kilogram
on the black market, earning it the
D
nickname “white gold.”
Officials said the 6.1 metric tons of ivory
destroyed was just a portion of the illegal
ivory held by China, though they wouldn’t
disclose how big the country’s total
stockpile is. The destroyed ivory came
from shipments from Africa intercepted by
customs officers as well as from carving
factories and shops in China.
China is following other countries that
have destroyed their ivory stocks in the
past year.
In June, the Philippines burned and
crushed more than five tons of ivory worth
an estimated $10 million confiscated since
2009, becoming the first Asian country to
do so. In November, the United States
destroyed six tons of ivory seized over 25
years. Gabon burned nearly five tons in
2012.
The United States, which sent officials
to the ivory destruction, commended
China. State Department spokeswoman
Marie Harf said such actions “will send a
powerful message to wildlife poachers and
traffickers and to the consumers of illegal
wildlife products.”
The International Fund for Animal
Welfare (IFAW) said the destruction was a
powerful symbolic act that shows that the
Chinese government is “concerned about
the toll ivory trafficking is taking on
elephant populations, as well as the other
threats to regional security that arise in
connection with wildlife crime.”
Ivory destruction in countries along the
trade chain “clearly tells consumers
everywhere that ivory buying is unethical
and wrong,” IFAW CEO Azzedine Downs,
who attended the event, said in a
statement. IFAW estimates that more
than 35,000 elephants were killed last
year by poachers for ivory.
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10-HOUR INFERNO. Firefighters fortify a wood building while fire ravages ancient Dukezong town in
Shangri-La county, in southwestern China’s Yunnan province. The 10-hour inferno razed the ancient Tibetan
town in the province that is popular with tourists, burning down hundreds of buildings after fire engines failed
to get onto the narrow streets, according to state media and witnesses. (AP Photo)
Fire destroys ancient Tibetan
town in southwest China
By Didi Tang
The Associated Press
B
EIJING — A fire that raged for
nearly 10 hours razed an ancient
Tibetan town in southwest China
that is popular with tourists, burning
down hundreds of buildings after fire
engines failed to get onto the narrow
streets, according to state media and
witnesses.
There was no immediate report of any
casualties, and the cause of the fire was not
yet known. State media, citing local
authorities, said the blaze started in a
guesthouse and was ruled accidental.
The fire broke out at about 1:30am on
January 11 in the ancient Tibetan quarter
of Dukezong, which dates back more than
1,000 years and is known for its preserved
cobbled streets, ancient structures, and
Tibetan culture. Dukezong is part of scenic
Shangri-La county in Deqen prefecture.
Once called Gyaitang Zong, the county
renamed itself Shangri-La in 2001, hoping
to draw tourists by the reference to the
mythical Himalayan land described in
James Hilton’s 1933 novel. Like hundreds
of Chinese cities and counties, Shangri-La
renovated its old neighborhood, Dukezong,
turning it into a tourist attraction filled
with shops and guesthouses.
Photos and video footage showed
Dukezong and its labyrinth of houses
engulfed in flames that turned the night
sky red.
The fire destroyed about 242 houses and
shops in Dukezong, dislocated more than
2,600 people, and torched many historic
artifacts, the official Xinhua News Agency
said.
He Yu, a resident, said she woke to loud,
explosion-like sounds to find the old town
on fire.
“The fire was huge,” she said. “The wind
was blowing hard, and the air was dry. I
was scared because my home is a little
distance away from the ancient town. It
kept burning, and the firefighters were
there, but there was little they could do
because they could not get the fire engines
onto the old town’s narrow streets.”
With fire engines kept out, local
residents lined up to pass buckets of water
to combat the fire, the Deqen prefecture
government said.
Most of Dukezong’s buildings are made
of wood and the fire spread easily because
of dry weather, state-run China Central
Television said.
More than 2,000 firefighters, soldiers,
police, local officials, and volunteers
responded to the blaze and brought it
under control at around 11:00am, the
Shangri-La county government said.
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