Dear editor,

In a recent news report "SF activist fights to end Chinese tradition of eating dog", Examiner columnist Joel P. Engardio opened it with something rather sensational. "Animal rights activists in San Francisco are holding the leashes to their dogs a little tighter when they see city buses roll by with colorful ads promoting tourism in China's Guangdong province."Apparently Mr. Engardio was implying that pet owners in San Francisco are faced with an impending  danger of their dogs being stolen and eaten. Stolen and eaten by whom? Tourists from Guangdong province? Chinese immigrants or Chinese Americans who dare to keep their cultural tradition? Has Mr. Engardio ever heard of such dreadful happenings in San Francisco? How many such cautious dog owners has he interviewed? Disciple of verification, the essence of good journalism, seemed to have eluded Mr. Engardio's attention. 

Although I compliment Mrs. Gung's dedication to the welfare of animals in China, I cannot help wondering who the audience of your newspaper are. Citizens and residents of the San Francisco area, not citizens of Guangdong province in China, correct? The news report, maybe totally unintentional, will nevertheless inevitably stamp these two key words, "Chinese" and "dog-eating" into the readers' mind. How many of the readers of the Examiners have ever been or are going to go to certain parts China where dog-eating is practiced? Very few indeed. On the other hand, given the racial diversity of the San Francisco area, the majority of your readers probably know some Chinese Americans including Chinese immigrants as neighbors, co-workers, classmates, or friends. Whose faces would come forth after the average reader read "Chinese" and "dog-eating"? Unfortunately, they will not be faces of the Chinese citizens on the other side of the globe, but the faces of the American Chinese community here in the San Francisco area and in the states in general, who does not have a loud political voice and whose image was falsely smeared by reports like this. In fact, one question frequently tossed at people of Chinese descent in the U.S. is: "Oh, you are Chinese. Do you eat dogs?" I have yet to hear one single report of dog eating by Chinese on the U.S. soil, have you?

Reports like this clearly violated your news organization's commitment to the citizens that you serve and will consequently undermine your credibility. But I am hopeful that your news organization would not ignore the criticisms from the local Chinese American community which consists of a large proportion of your audience and deserved to be heard on the public square. 

Sincerely,