The Chinese don’t mess around when it comes to official corruption. The former head of China’s food and drug safety (in photo) was executed this week after being found guilty of accepting bribes from drug companies to approve ineffective medicines.
China has pledged to toughen oversight of its food and drug products, which have been tainted by reports of lax standards.
A high-profile execution won’t satisfy China’s trading partners, though, that real reform is taking place — the proof is in the product.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
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22 Comments
Hmmmmm :>
” The Chinese don’t mess around when it comes to official corruption.
Hummmmmm, impeachment-execution, impeachment-execution. Hummmmm. :)
They sure do something different. Here! Corrupt people become members of Congress.
China is not a free country. It’s far more likely they killed him for doing what he was told to do.
Actually, it’s pretty unlikely that Zheng was killed for doing what the government told him to do (this guy had been bucking Beijing for more than 20 years).
Zheng was a reformer who went over to the dark side.
What’s MOST likely is that by executing Zheng Beijing took the opportunity to kill 2 birds at once: kill off an old thorn in their side, and take action to polish up China’s reputation as an exporter of safe (if cheap) consumer goods.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/13/business/worldbusiness/13corrupt.html?ex=1342065600&en=931ebdb09f351a2c&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink
He got what he deserved. Would that we could get rid of corruption so swiftly. But then, that would depopulate DeeCee, wouldn’t it?
I don’t trust them at all, they probably wanted those people to do what they did, and now, they’re using them as the scapegoats.
And we still buy all of our products from them….this has to STOP.
Now if we could do that here with a few of the Chamber of Commerce members for hiring Illegal Aliens, then they would get the message of the seriousness of this issue.
Perhaps like the farmers used to do with coyotes and hang them along the fence line…for the kids to enjoy and learn from.
Just because they execute the head guy does that mean that their products are now safe? Or is this just a ’show’ for the stupid countries that will still buy their products simply because they are cheap?
My grandfather had an old saying – you get what you pay for.
But without cheap China products, be it safe of unsafe, Walmart would be forced to live with a few less billion dollars in profits – and we certainly could not have that, could we?
One way to fight these is to stop buying at Walmart. Let Walmart know the only way they will understand – through their profit margin. There are other stores that do not sell strictly China crap. Or, better yet, do without those products as much as you can. I realize nowadays it is very hard to buy just American products.
If the entire country would stop buying Walmart for a few months – I would bet that we would begin to see a difference in our dealing with China.
Of course he was a scapegoat…the Chinese govenment is one of the most currupt on earth, they could care less about anyone, including their own people. All those in charge over there have their hand in someone’s pocket, it’s just how they do business. His execution has only to do with the fact that they got caught and now they’re trying to save face so they can continue exporting. I’m trying hard not to buy anything from China just for the principle, but it’s damn hard.
Yeah, well.
If you ever visit China, you should really take the time to visit the local night market. At least once, but preferably several times. Haggle over some stuff. Don’t pay the price asked. Don’t believe the seller is telling the truth in a prima facie way. You’ll learn that the Chinese are the greatest frickin’ consumers on Earth, bar none. Although I hate like hell to give credence to their “5,000 years of culture” braggadocio, the Chinese know more about consumer goods and consumer prices than anybody, even us Americans.
Shopping is the national past time, even though for the past 50 years even the urban areas have been as broke as a 15-yr. old mule. What I mean is, the Chinese shop with a VENGEANCE. One of the 5,000-yr. old sayings is “I lost much blood today” shopping. It means they spent a lot of money, but spent it very wisely (ie, they did the requisite homework to prevent getting cheated).
Here’s the key: a Chinese merchant will tell you whatever he thinks you’ll believe, based on the conversation immediately preceding the haggling. He’ll try to get away with EVERTHING: that’s how it’s done when there are no rules.
What most people fail to credit the Chinese for is this, though: they will freely admit they’re lying, but ONLY IF you ask first.
I’m not trying to defend lethal Chinese imports here. Instead all I’m trying to do is to give anybody who’s never haggled face to face with a Chinese merchant a heads up.
It’s in the culture. They’re very, very, very good at what Americans take great if overblown pride in: setting prices according to quality, for consumer goods.
If the Chinese are so good as consumers, then why are they not buying American goods? Our trade deficit with China is amazing. We will do anything the Chinese demand just so Walmart can sell their worthless trinkets and make that extra billion in profit.
Walmart needs to be held accountable for some of this China trade deficit disaster. I firmly believe that it would only take a few months of the American population to stop buying at Walmart and make the reasons known to Walmart’s shareholders.
Although China’s per capita income is growing, it’s still not nearly comparable to the personal income of Americans. Most of what the US manufactures these days is aimed at our domestic market only.
And the goods we do “manufacture” well, especially goods protected by intellectual property rights (eg, software) are the subject of EXTENSIVE Chinese copyright infringment.
The bottom line is that the non-IPR stuff we still manufacture here isn’t valued very highly outside the US, and the stuff that is valued highly internationally (like software, movies, music..”soft” goods rather than “hard” goods) is under attack by pirates.
“I firmly believe that it would only take a few months of the American population to stop buying at Walmart and make the reasons known to Walmart’s shareholders.”
Boycott! Boycott!
To WalMart, I say AhSo. I spent $151 there today. WalMart, the poor persons friend. Why the Libs hate them, I don’t know.
All that said, though, it’s still very likely that the highest profile incidents here so far (pet food, toothpaste), are a result of a pretty unusual kind of cheating by the Chinese. These are examples of Chinese exporting goods that are clearly outside the mfg specs.
In a face/face environment anybody, even we Americans, can get a great deal on consumer goods of extremely high quality. For example, Sharp’s Nueovo (sp?) PC monitors are sourced out of some Chinese factories (some Taiwanese factories as well, located just south of Taipei). Sharp enjoys great brand loyalty at the moment, when it comes to LCD TVs for both PC and home entertainment.
The current problems are indeed likely due to systemic illegality on the part of the Chinese manufacturers. I think it’s very likely that American importers were flat lied to; it’s not the case that American importers didn’t do their homework.
Another Chinese anecdote. Tsingtao beer has long been rumored to contain formaldehyde. (Tsingtao is brewed in Longshan province; the brewmeisters there use an old Dutch lager recipe and the beer is usually excellent…even though rice instead of barely is used as a cereal grain..not unlike all American beers, btw). Formaldehyde will cause sediment to “fall out of” lager beer — because it’s lethal to all life, including yeast — and result in crystal clear lager. Very little formaldehyde added to a batch of cloudy lager will cause it to clear up immediately. Works great, despite the fact that formaldehyde is lethal.
Germany’s Reinheitsgebot law is an example of how we Westerners disdain the “cheating” embodied in adding a drop or two of formaldehyde to beer. For Chinese, though, the level of formaldehyde isn’t life-threatening yet allows the brewer to save a batch of freshly brewed beer.
No harm no foul, according to the Chinese. We Americans and Europeans, of course, disagree. Strongly.
Further, if yall only heard the stories (rumors) told by the Japanese, Koreans, Phillipinos, Thais, and Indonesians about the Chinese, you’d faint. Believe me. (There are several about popular Chinese restaurants in Guangdong province, just north of Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong…)
Thing is, those rumors are too similar to the kinds of rumors that Mexicans spread about Americans, or that Americans spread about Canadians: totally stereotypical and only grossly accurate.
The thing is, people are people no matter where on Earth they live.
Well China just banned US imported meats in retaliation for our ban on some of hteir products.
I say GOOD. Maybe we’ll get back to making things here again.
To WalMart, I say AhSo. I spent $151 there today. WalMart, the poor persons friend. Why the Libs hate them, I don’t know.
Posted by: fleettwood
And it is people like you that is destroying the American way of life but you are so arrogant you don’t give a care. Real patriotism is not waving the flag. Real patriotism is putting your country first and the entire country – not just the other Republicans.
Too bad you think you are so great when in fact you’re a very small man.
Patriotism is the first refuge of scoundrels. (Or is it last? Same thing, really, I guess – its the refuge of scoundrels.)
But flag-waving, pride, arrogance, chauvinism and xenophobia are the trademarks of our right wing. Where would they be without patriotic demogogy?
Up the creek without a paddle, thats where. (Or is it down the creek?)
Fleetie,”To WalMart, I say AhSo. I spent $151 there today. WalMart, the poor persons friend. Why the Libs hate them, I don’t know.”
Better buy fast- I hear from one of their managers that Wal-Mart has decided to take the business upscale, and all those low prices and cheap merchandise will soon be gone.
Well, lets at least hope it’s new merchandise is mostly American made. Now that would be a great way for Walmart to clean up it’s act a little.
Mary,Who said anything about cleaning up their act? They’ve pretty much done in all their competition, so the market is theirs to charge what they like.