I am officially boycotting China. I will no longer knowingly purchase any goods manufactured there including plastics, foods, clothing, cosmetics, anything. And yes, this is going to be a difficult boycott. I will also be boycotting the summer Olympic Games to be held in Beijing. What's the deal, you ask? I'm so glad you did.
First, China is the chief weapons provider, diplomatic sponsor and largest foreign investor and trade partner to Sudan. The Sudanese government, as I'm sure many of my readers are well aware, is responsible for abominable acts of genocide in Darfur. And yet China continues to strengthen its economic and military ties with Sudan when the Chinese government, single-handedly, has more power than any other nation to convince the Sudanese government to halt the slaughter and stop blocking UN Peacekeepers. China must act to end the genocide in Sudan.
Second, unless you were on another planet, you have heard about the extensive recall of tainted pet foods that originated in China. While the country does appear to be making progress on this particular issue, I can't help but feel that it's only because it has blown up to be such a disgusting mess. It has been widely reported that Chinese manufacturer’s frequently evade US border standards trying to push the same contaminated shipment into the US from several different entry points after being turned away. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. They take that advice to heart - KNOWING that they are breaking the law and endangering lives.
Third, China's blistering economic and industrial growth is having potentially irreversible impacts on the global environment. Everything is dirty. Seriously. Air and water supplies are so foul that a health crisis in that country is impending. And it won't stay "over there" for long. China's environmental problem is OUR environmental problem - we must require them to do more.
I'm sure you remember all the "Axis of Evil" BS spun by the President during his 2002 State of the Union address. While I don't allow myself to use the word "Evil", I certainly feel that China is contributing more than its fair share of negative vibes into the planet's ethos. For that, I give you NO STARS, China. No love. No money. Get your shit together.
3 comments:
If only there was a strong U.N. willing to do anything to stop such atrocities. I can only hold on to a hope that somewhere there is a country willing to take on difficult issues and challenges in the face of such idleness and complicity.
It is well known that up to 50% of the smog producing particulates in the West Coast is from China. Course, from their recent statements, they don't seem to care. There may be a bit of truthiness to this, but I think it's generally correct.
By the way, recently read (I want to say in "Collapse") that China views "environmentalism" as a failure of a capitalist system; in other words, the need to take environmental issues into consideration is a failure of capitalism, and a mistake that a communist country cannot make.
In the interest of full-disclosure, there was an "off-line" conversation that happened between this particular friend of mine and I on this subject. I want to bring it back on-line for the sake of argument.
venerable bede:
"first off, i should apologize about the first part part of my post. . .it was meant to be in jest, and i hope you got that. secondly, how could you forget to bring up the anniversary of tiananmen square in talking about china. finally, i'm torn on my china views- on the one hand, i do believe that free trade and open markets will eventually bring down the regime, on the other hand, a one-way street won't accomplish that. "
Eleanor Rigby:
"Please. I’m not offended.
I guess my stance is very simple. I don’t agree with what you’re doing, therefore, I don’t feel it necessary to support you – in any way – economically, philosophically, defense, whatever. I’m not necessarily saying that this is the stance that nations as a whole should take, but as a consumer, it’s absolutely my stand. My personal embargo. Or Vendetta."
I really do believe my rebuttal, which really isn't a rebuttal at all. I think that far too often we, as individuals, do not take into account the dramatic power that we have as consumers. It's an old-school approach, for sure, but maybe we all need to be a little more aware of where the products and services we purchase originate and how and what the income from our purchases go toward. Of course, this often means picking your battles - a boycott on China, fine, but Mexican sweatshops - eh, no big deal. It's a rough world we live in, for sure. I think it's about picking a battle that really resonates with you, and for me, at this time, this is one of mine.
Yes, we all have to pick our battles. I praise you for this one, but I know it will be so hard. Good luck!
Is it true what bede says about the smog coming from China? That's enough to make me want to boycott them as well.
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