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Marshall, Missouri ~ Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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Tension in Tibet & China
Posted Friday, April 25, 2008, at 11:28 PM<< Previous | Read comments | Respond | Email link | Next >>
Now that the seeds of boycott have been planted in China and Europe will they grow?
China gave it's initial blessings to the protest of French products in China in response to the disruptions to the Olympic Torch relay in Paris. The protests were carried out in numerous cities outside Carrefour outlets. Carrefour SA is a French international hypermarket chain with a global network of outlets. It is the second largest retail group in the world in terms of revenue after Wal-Mart.
The protest crowds were estimated to range from several dozen at some stores to 1,000's at others. They waved Chinese flags, unfurled anti-French and anti-Carrefour banners, sang patriotic songs and burned French flags. Carrefour currently operates more that 125 stores in China. Protests also occurred outside the French Embassy in Beijing.
The president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, Joerg Wuttke, said a boycott of French products, as some activists are calling for, would likely hurt Chinese workers and companies, and could be met by similar action against Chinese products in Europe. "This kind of thing is a slippery slope downhill. Once you start talking about boycotts, there will always be retaliation on the other side. Where do you stop?"
Is it possible that these protests could result in world wide calls to boycott exported products made in China until the clamp down by Chinese soldiers in Tibet is relaxed and China recognizes Tibet as a sovereign nation instead of a troublesome province since China incorporated Tibet into the Peoples Republic of China in 1951.
I'm John Q. What do you think? Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
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Tension in Tibet & China
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it took the olympics but now the world has to finally look closer at china. the usa goes everywhere in the world to fight for human rights...EXCEPT THERE....we have been kissing their you-know-whats to long.... what if anyone else sent our kids lead based toys lol....its funny that the IOC even gave them the olympics in the first place. it just shows, human rights are important unless the person violating them is important then we can turn the blind eye.
jj, Do you think there will or should be calls to boycott products exported from China? At first China's governing body sanctioned the protests. Now, after the PR nightmare the state run newspapers are calling for the protests to stop and for the students to return to their colleges. Their actions in Tibet sparked the protests. The disrupted torch run in Paris sparked the boycott demonstrations. Have you any comments on that?
I read an article a year or so ago (I'll try to find it later) about a woman who vowed to stop using Chinese products for a year, I think it was. She found it almost impossible at first, so thoroughly has our economy woven itself into China's. But she did it. It was a very illuminating article.
Eric - I saw the same article, and she was interviewed on some TV program or other. As long as American citizens are more in love with CHEAP and MORE than FAIR and ENOUGH, there won't be an effective boycott since that would require that people buy from local producers who don't use slave and sweatshop labor...
It will be interesting to see the long term effects of our Chinese relationship on our own economy, using the present status quo as a basis.
(From an article I read that I can't find the stinking link to) The American steel producers have informed China of increases in pricing as high as 65%...and China said, "Keep it coming". The more we export, the less that is available here, the higher the price, etc. You get the picture. What is going to happen to "cheap" and when ultimately we will be paying higher prices for Chinese commodities they are manufacturing with American material--that WE are charging them MORE for?
I don't think boycotting will ever work. It would bring our own greedy economy to its knees.
if we boycotted the ussr olympics.......we shouldnt even have thought about going to these! have some consistancy as a country and/or people! 75 percent of the posts on this website would be illegal there! it might hurt us to boycott china......i mean where would we get fireworks and happy meal toys! we should stand firm
John Q.,
I just found this old clipping. I'm afraid the author isn't known; it's from a campus newspaper (I believe)...
Joe Smith started the day early having set his alarm clock (MADE IN JAPAN) for 6am. While his coffepot (MADE IN CHINA) was perking, he shaved with his elecric razor (MADE IN HONG KONG). He put on a dress shirt (MADE IN SRI LANKA), designer jeans (MADE IN SINGAPORE), and tennis shoes (MADE IN KOREA). After cooking his breakfast in his new electric skillet (MADE IN INDIA) he sat down with his calculator (MADE IN MEXICO) to see how much he could spend today. After setting his watch (MADE IN TAIWAN) to the radio (MADE IN INDIA) he got in his car (MADE IN GERMANY) (filled with gas from SAUDI ARABIA) and continued his search for a good paying AMERICAN JOB. At the end of yet another discouraging and fruitless day checking his computer (MADE IN MALAYSIA), Joe decided to relax for a while. He put on his sandals (MADE IN BRAZIL) poured himself a glass of whine (MADE IN FRANCE) and turned on his TV (MADE IN INDONESIA), and then wondered why he can't find a good paying job--IN AMERICA...
I thought this was pertinent, given the discussions of boycotts. I'd love to know who penned this if anyone knows...
Smokin' Cheetah, you touched on the very real problem with our economy. American businesses say they cannot compete in the global economy unless the wage rates are comparably. This is the same argument raised in 1907. What monetary incentive do American companies have to pay a decent wage when they can get products made in China with a labor rate of $.12 a hour. In Mexico the minimum wage ranges about $4.54 for an eight hour day.
We do have laws prohibiting "Dumping". Producing products in a foreign country and shipping enough products to the United States in order to keep the demand and ultimately the prices high in their own countries.
These anti-dumping laws have fiercely been lobbied against by The U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It is well established that they are just a mouthpiece for special interest groups.