Current Event

reported by Ong Teh
http://www.
bubblews.
com/assets/images/
news/752823202_1
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Original article
Not since Mickey Mouse raised the profile of the common house rodent has an animal enjoyed such an
extreme makeover, but sharks -- once the subject of guts-and-gore horror classics like Jaws and Deep Blue
Sea -- have entered the new millennium as "beautiful creatures."
No longer ominous, sinister and man-eating, the Great White shark is more likely to attract the sobriquets
magnificent, powerful and beautiful online.
The Western Australian government's decision last month to begin shark culling following a spate of fatal
attacks brought out a vocal shark fan club and in Asia, consuming shark's fin, once a delicacy, is now likely to
attract disapproving stares.
Australian activists took the bait off drum lines to disrupt the cull and celebrity shark attack victim Paul de
Gelder joined the chorus of disapproval.
http://blog.lib.umn.
edu/basta009/myblog/6a00d83452339
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Original article (cont.)

"The ocean is not our backyard swimming pool," he wrote in his blog. "It's a wondrous, beautiful, dangerous place ... it and its
inhabitants need protection from those that would do it harm."
When exactly Australian beachgoers went from applauding to protesting a shark cull is unclear, but there's little doubt the one
time monster of the deep has undergone a public relations revolution in recent years.
Paul Hilton, a diver and photographer whose photo essay "Shark Fin" won a World Press Photo Award in 2012, says that greater
knowledge about sharks and their place in the eco-system has raised greater awareness about the creatures.
"They've been around for 450 million years, they're streamlined, they're perfect for their environment -- it's pretty amazing to
watch them swim through the water," Hilton told CNN. "A shark might not be my favorite creature either but it has its place
and I know where it needs to be."
He said stereotypes about sharks are so strong, they're difficult to shake even when diving next to them.
"Diving with Great Whites is surreal -- the first time you see the shark they come out of the depths but they don't look real; you
see the gums and the teeth. They look like something straight out of Hollywood.
"They're obviously killing machines, but they have their place."
Hong Kong-based animal activist Sharon Kwok, whose father was one of the founding members of the Hong Kong marine park
Ocean Park, said changing perceptions about shark in China is a slow process but gaining traction.
"In Asia it's becoming quite common to have banquets without shark fin -- it's now the 'in' thing to do," Kwok told CNN. "I
still occasionally hear people say 'I don't eat shark fin but I do eat shark meat' -- that tends to come from older people though."
Original article (cont.)

She said people under 40 years old in Hong Kong would not go out of their way to order shark fin anymore.
"If they're served it at a banquet, they might eat it because they don't want to kick up a fuss and embarrass the host. Me? I refuse it. I take
pictures of it. I kick up a fuss."
She said attitudes on mainland China were also changing and that the need for delicacies such as shark fin were not as culturally entrenched
as many believe.
"Here's the thing -- I find that the mainland Chinese are so used to trying to get away with things, I think they've got half a mind frame
expecting things to backfire anyway," Kwok said, adding that there was an "easy come, easy go" attitude in China.
Researchers have found that attitudes and perceptions towards animals have even colored scientific studies, with large, dangerous or cuddly
animals getting more attention in research papers than their more workaday counterparts.
Looking through studies on some 2000 African animals between 1994 and 2008, South African researchers found 1,855 papers were about
chimpanzees, 1,241 were on leopards and 562 about lions.
The African manatee -- which has the unfortunate appearance of a portly and myopic old man -- ranked lowest with just 14 studies.
"A few species commanded a great proportion of scientific attention, whereas for many species information that might inform conservation
is virtually nonexistent," researchers Morgan J. Trimble and Rudi J. Van Aarde said in their paper Species Inequality in Scientific Study.
"In the eyes of science all species are not created equal. A few species command a great proportion of scientific attention, whereas for many
species information that might inform conservation is virtually non-existent."
Summary of article
sharks have been around as man-eaters for years. But now, they are known as beautiful
creatures. Shark attack victim Paul de Gelder and many others have started to shout yells
of disapproval. One of their shouts were: "The ocean is not our backyard swimming
pool," he wrote in his blog. "It's a wondrous, beautiful, dangerous place ... it and its
inhabitants need protection from those that would do it harm." but Paul Hilton, a diver
and photographer , defends:"They've been around for 450 million years, they're
streamlined, they're perfect for their environment -- it's pretty amazing to watch them
swim through the water,"and"A shark might not be my favorite creature either but it has
its place and I know where it needs to be.". The People have now realized that drinking
shark fin soup has been eaten mainly by people over 40. But most of the people that eat it
are in Hong Kong.
http:
//www.
pagog.
com/pics
/2007/12
Summary on pics
http://cdn.theatlantic.
com/static/mt/assets/fo
od/shark%20fin%
20soup.jpghttp://www.
thesharkdoctor.
com/shark-attack1.
jpghttp://4.bp.blogspot.
com/iN5v2cqFGRM/Uc0sdtj
mSYI/AAAAAAAAAf0/
Facts
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
7.155 million (2012) live in Hong Kong

Hong Kong is 426 sq miles (1,104 km)
Hong Kong's population is 93.6% ethnic Chinese and 6.4% from other groups
"Hong Kong" is an approximate phonetic rendering of the pronunciation of the
spokenCantonese or Hakka name , meaning "fragrant harbour"
http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm93/andrewhongnsw/ReligionofAustralianresidentsbor-3.gif
flag of Hong Kong

The red field signifies zest, celebration, and a
festive mood.
Each of the flower's petals features

a five-pointed red star which
represents for communism and
socialism. The flag was first
adopted on April 4, 1990
http://www.mapsofworld.
com/images/world-
Map of Hong Kong

http://www.mapsopensource.com/images/hong-kong-political-map.gif
Bibliography
Unknown.
Shark's 'man-eater' image undergoes makeover
Unknown. "Shark's 'man-eater' image undergoes makeover." CNN, 2014. Web. 8 Feb 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/05/world/asia/shark-image-makeover/index.html?
hpt=wo_t5>.
http://www.jawshark.
com/photos/great_w
hite_jawshark.jpg

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reported by Ong Teh

Original article (cont.)

Original article (cont.)

7.155 million (2012) live in Hong Kong

flag of Hong Kong

Each of the flower's petals features

Map of Hong Kong

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