James writes:
We were kicked off the 747-400 because they refused to allow a car seat on board and my two year old son was incapable of staying in his coffin-like seat. We were told we were a security threat, threatened to be left behind and accused of not following crew instructions.
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As part of a 3-month fire-safety campaign, the Chinese city of Zhuhai has banned all Christmas trees and related flammable decorations from all stores, malls, restaurants, and other public spaces: “Those that fail to rectify the situation will be subject to legal measures like suspension or closure.” [Reuters]
With all the hoopla in the media about all things Chinese—exports, Chinese investors in the United States, the U.S. trade deficit with China, and so on—we thought this myth-exploding article was worth the read. It’s aimed at investors, but relevant to anyone interested in the U.S. economy and how our relationship with China really works. For example, the U.S.’s foreign direct investment (FDI) in China so far this decade is only a third of what we’ve put into Ireland and Germany.
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China will allow US food inspectors to be posted inside its factories. No doubt the factory owners will adapt by processing food outside the factory. [NYT]
Ah, the game is afoot, China! See how the worm turns! Cliché #3 should go here! China has pulled some unofficially imported (from the U.S.) Pringles chips because they contain potassium bromate, a preservative that we Americans happily ingest in order to breed a race of lumpy super-capitalists—but that China, Hong Kong, and other countries have banned “because tests have found it to be carcinogenic.”
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Riot police had to be called to quell 120 angry Chinese tourists in the Vegas-like resort territory of Macau. The tourists complained they were being forced to shop even though they were on vacation to gamble, and they began rioting after their tour guides took them to a cold beach and locked them out of their tour busses. [Reuters]
Congress will require American automakers to achieve fleet-wide fuel efficiency of 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The deal struck late last night by Congressional negotiators and hailed as “an historic advancement,” would put America on the slow track towards meeting the same efficiency standards that Europe, China, and most of the developed world already enjoy.
Here’s something everyone can be thankful for—the Chinese, Europeans, and tangentially everyone in America and the rest of the world who have spent the better part of last year dodging lead bullets from the factory nation. The European Union’s consumer chief has said that China has made “quantum leaps” in improving its safety protocols, and will therefore not face a ban in the EU.
Used condoms as hair bands? We’re all for recycling and everything, but this story pushes boundaries of good taste… and public health.
The CPSC says 9 children have been hospitalized after eating Aqua Dots beads. The craft toy contains a glue that breaks down in party drug GHB when ingested. The toy was made by a Chinese factory, whose license was suspended following the recall. Reportedly, the toxic glue cost 1/3 less than the glue they were supposed to use.
Today the White House will announce its own plan for how to tighten the country’s slack product safety practices. The proposal is being offered as an alternative to the one Congress has come up with, which the White House—along with industry trade groups and Consumer Product Safety Commission head Nancy A. Nord—think is too mean to manufacturers.
The White House version suggests stationing inspectors in other countries to inspect goods before they are shipped to U.S. shores, because “with $2 trillion in imports annually, inspections at the ports had become ineffective.” We’re not sure how the math works on that one—unless sharks or pirates consume large amounts of imports during transit, the same number of goods leave foreign ports and arrive at ours, and having inspectors all in one place where they can work together, instead of spread out in each foreign country, seems a more efficient use of resources. But we’re probably just stupid from too much lead.
The Chinese government has discovered a fake diabetes medicine on a fake research institute website, which then links to a fake version of the official government health and drug watchdog agency’s site. If you’re paying attention to urls, it’s hard to not notice that something’s wrong—but we’re sure there’s more than enough people who don’t notice that little detail.
Worried that the whole tainted export thing might further poison their image, China this week revoked the export licenses of 750 toy factories citing quality control problems. The move came just as the Senate Commerce Committee passed the CPSC Reform Act, which would strengthen domestic toy safety standards and impose penalties of up to $100 million on companies that sell dangerous toys.
Despite the announcement of the license suspensions, Chinese regulators said 99 percent of toy exports in southern Guangdong Province, near Hong Kong, met quality standards.
China has arrested nearly 800 people over the past two months in a “nationwide crackdown on the production and sale of tainted food, drugs and agricultural products,” writes the New York Times. The country announced the number officially today on their website, but did not provide details on the violations involved. The announcement is part of a larger campaign to not only rehabilitate China’s image around the world, but to address concerns that its domestic products are even less likely to be safe.
Starting today at 9:30 a.m., the Senate Commerce Committee will examine the lives of the young Chinese workers who assemble our Barbies and Tiggers without the workforce protections or social safety nets enjoyed by western workers.
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If you’re doing holiday shopping online but want to know where your toys are made before you buy them, check out the list at FatBrainToys. They don’t sell things like Bratz or Hot Wheels, but if you’re in the market for unique (sometimes even “educational”) toys, it’s a good place to start. [FatBrainToys.com]
The Salt Lake Tribune has a special series written by a reporter who spent a year in China investigating the conditions in 25 factories. While Americans are running around concerned about the long-term effects of lead in toys, real Chinese workers are dying in deplorable working conditions as they put together our cheap gas grills and La-Z-Boy recliners so we can enjoy them at everyday low prices.
Caving to xenophobia, Trader Joe’s announced that it will purge its shelves of all single-ingredient Chinese products by January 1. Will consumers be any safer?
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