If this story where a Former Chinese Restaurant Employee Tells All is even half true, I will never look at Chinese food the same again.
I would like to say that I was surprised by this article... however I have to say that I'm not. I've got too many chinese friends who have told me about this sort of thing before.
The only good things to know is that a) it is very difficult to get away with that sort of behaviour here in North America (due to standards, etc), and b) if you don't know.. ask your asian friends where to eat.
Living in Vancouver we have the luxury of people knowing what things should be like, so it keeps the restaurants honest. I would be less confident if I was somewhere where there were not many proper Chinese restaurants.