Exactly, S'boy! China is no place for a western child to be raised ethically. Besides, should said child ever return to the west, he (or she) will have the stigma of having lived in the 'Wild East' to overcome in jobseeking situations back in his (or her) parents' homeland.
China's great for lazy oldtimers with some western funds behind them to support their daily living teaching or going through the motions of doing so. As usual, your posts are sensible. I hope the originsl poster heed your advice for her child's sake.

Partially rearing a Western child in China will do her/him no harm at all(he might find going home a bit of a shock with all the violence and restrictions which occur in the West these days)for starters, he will hopefully acquire an important language under his belt, which will enrich his mind and may earn him good money when he's a man.

Maybe all that family do at the moment is sit in front of the TV, grow weak and become feeble-minded. A Chinese adventure will strengthen them as a family, and help mould the child's character.

I find the advice to that family negative in the extreme; they will probably do it anyway, whatever you advise; so it might be better if you advise them how to handle any dangers that might exist(not as many as in the UK) for example, Chinese food is not that healthy, and that they should cook all their own grub. Let's try and help these people, instead of venting your own grievances; you may have scared them off to another site for advice.