As some peeps will remember i followed the link in finbar's sig to this website:
http://www.boycottmadeinchina.org/

There i read some shocking truths and decided to join the boycott.
Well, several months on and i have found it almost impossible to never buy a chinese made product.
Twice i got caught out:
The first time was when i went with my kid to buy some shoes. We were in a hurry and there were some New Balance shoes on the sale table in his size, half-price. He has always worn this brand and so we just grabbed em without thinking and didnt check til we were in the car ... and there was the 'made in china' tag. I let it go that time coz he needed the shoes that day and time had run out.

ok, i thought ... one time only, i wont let that happen again.
The next mistake was buying Sony, pressuming it was made in japan, only to find when i got home that Sony have many of their products made under license in china now and i had bought one of them.

The last occassion of my breaking the boycott was the most distressing of all:
My teenager needed boxer-shorts urgently and i went hunting for some at our local mall .... shop after shop and all there was were made in china...
What really gets to me is the thought that every cent that is being spent on these products is servicing the chinese military machine (whose budget has been increased four-fold since 1998). Its bad enuf that the workers get nothing and suffer terrible conditions but China is preparing herself to take advantage of a global economic crisis and we are all fools if we keep feeding this monster.

Sadly, yes. It seems every damn thing I buy is made in China. And I don't buy that much stuff.

It is possible to buy "socially-conscious"/"fair trade" (whatever the term is) clothing--- the problem is that variety is often limited, not to mention it can be rather expensive.

Within a short few minutes after reading this post (and link) I happened to step outside my public library for a smoke. As I was heading out, I held the door open for a gorgeous Asian gal.. As she passed by me, I "scoped her out" as she was quite cute; flowing hair-bare midriff top. Not surprisingly, I was thinking of our dear Cassie's post... It was then that my eyes spied a tattoo on the Oriental beauty, placed strategically on her lower back/hipline.... It read: MADE IN CHINA ---- Guess I could be persuaded to make 'certain' exceptions to 'da boycott ---------- senorsal

yeah!!! We have had Chinese people as part of our communities here since the gold-rush days of the late 1800's. It is certainly no relection of individual Chinese that their administration sucks... go get the girl!

On the subject of gender ... its scary to think of their military machine, consisting, as it does, of many men who will never find a Chinese wife because of the one-child policy and male preference culture.

No doubt Cassie, thanks it's good you share these facts with us and bring it out. There are many reasons to do so. The above mentioned
of course and let us not forget , all ressources used are taken, robbed, from the earth served to us on boats and gas guzzling vehicles so our bond internationally and global trading community just keeps lying to us.
To not help continue this environmental, social and Warfare implicated situation: BOYCOTT CHINA IMPORTS!!!!

A big social problem is also the freedom of thought,China is a great nation if u see it from its 5000 years of history,
it just doesn't have the luck in the last few hundred years., there are chinese ppl who won Nobel prize, or being nominated, the most famous are Li Zheng Dao, and Yang Zhen Ning, but saddly both of them study and teach in U.S,
this shows a huge problem chinese ppl facing, ----a major flaw in its educational system,
chinese schools encourage students to remember the right answers rather than think a better answer or so called independant thinking.

Heres some stats:
Chinese armed forces: People's Liberation Army (PLA), founded in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province on August 1st, 1927.
General Introduction of PLA and National Defence
Central Military Commission
PLA Daily

Ministry of Defense
Total Army Members 2.5 million
Budget of National Defense in 2000: 120.5 billion yuan RMB (about 14.5 billion US$) a 12.7% increase over the year of 1999)

Budget of National Defense (Unit: billion yuan RMB/billion yuan US$, and the exchange rate between USD and RMB is about 1 :8.3)

Air Force (470,000 airmen; 2,556 jet fighters; 400 ground attack jets.)
Ground Force (Army) (1.9 million men; 14,000 tanks; 14,500 artillery pieces & 453 helicopters)
Navy (250,000 sailors; 63 submarines; 18 destroyers; 35 frigates
info& photos from: http://www.zorkiy.com/uploads/1105350175_china_army.jpg


.....The USA has one problem their not sure how many soldiers they have in active duty ...The situation has gotten bad enough that both houses of Congress have sped through bills to permanently boost the size of the 482,000-man Army and 175,000-man Marine Corps.

-WS

Errr, it might be good to play devil's advocate a little bit here.

I know they are communists, or some variation of communism but what is it they did wrong? I understand the government is very repressive and they bully their citizens. Our own government seems to do that too. How would our actions look to much of the rest of the world? They are our economic competitors but so what? How does boycotting China help us or help the world? Are there really any bad guys or good guys out there? Even Kim over in North Korea while he seems like a nasty ruler, I cant see why we should boycott N. Korea when all that will do is hurt the people. The leaders will still live in luxury no matter what.

Indeed Stone,

This is true the concept of Boycotting China imports , is mainly just a part of a whole global problem, and not the peoples, but leaders and our leaders.
To have fear of their numbers is not what the point is but, how alot of the reasons for many economic situations conclude themselves in the military.
If they had no reason to have one, or the numbers were sufficent , which will never be the case, would they even ban human reproduction itself, due to lack of land, haha. Take over Japan or try first I think....?

-WS

I know you're just playing devils advocate, but I can't help myself from answering that question as if it were posed seriously, so here goes:

They invaded and conquered the most peaceable nation on the planet. Then they forced the nuns and monks to fornicate in the streets, then they killed most of them, then they blew the shit out of their beloved monastaries and forced their political and spiritual leader into exile.

How's that for starters?



I hope the chinese government rots away even faster than our own.

Vp, I think you are talking about Tibet. I don't know the whole story there but I know it's a long story. I'm certainly not defending that nor any of the other things they may have done. I simply ask how does boycotting China help us or help the world? Our own country has done a lot of bad things, including recent stuff. This boycott thing could get out of hand, you know.

Brittain has done bad things, so has Japan and basicly any country you could name. We are boycotting Cuba right now and what good has that done? It only hurts the little people. The rulers wallow in luxury no matter if the people are starving or not.

Yeh, I was talking about tibet.

I doubt boycotting would have much of an impact upon china, but out of principle I could understand it. I would boycott chinese goods if I could afford to not buy their cheap crap. I'd boycott Wal Mart as well for selling most of it.

That'd teach 'em! heheh

As far as weather or not it would do the world any good, I don't know.. but not buying their products would be to the spiritual benefit of the consumer, atleast.

boycot walmart

Boycotting Walmart would be a plausible policy for a number of reasons...