Chinese consumers boycott French products

The Chinese consumers are frustrated about the negative response to the Olympic Games in China. They are so angry with all the demonstrators along the route of the torch that they respond with a boycott of the “problem” countries products. The effect is that the pressure might be lifted from the Chinese government to make better human rights.

The Chinese consumers stop buying French product as a payback for their humiliation they think the torch party received in France. Especially the girl in the wheelchair getting cough up in the action was too much for the Chinese netizens. – Even though the things that went on in London and San Francisco was not looking that great either.
The Chinese web users calls for a boycott of French products such as L'Oréal, Louis Vuitton and Givenchy. Interesting to see if they also want to boycott the product of the rest of the countries on the torch’s route.
The reason for the boycott is that the Chinese people as a hole, were sold the message of the Olympics from there government as a symbol of status in the world, and the Chinese people does not feel they are being respected from the world as they should.

Once again it seems like the government in China have been giving the Chinese people the wrong, or to rosy a picture, than the rest of the worlds perspective. The Chinese people fell it is the worst embarrassment, and don’t understand that the critic of China is aimed at there government, and not the Chinese people.
But it will be interesting to follow the outcome of the boycott if it really catches on among the Chinese people, they are many and the effect can be considerable on the products and France. A Chinese consumer boycott might have an impact on the perspective on a boycott of the opening ceremony. It was originally intended to get the Chinese government to make better human rights for the Chinese people, but instead the power of the Chinese as consumers might stop all the boycotts from the world leaders, because of the finances involved. We end up in a absurd situation where the Chinese people as consumers might be the reason for less a pressure on the Chinese government for better human rights for the Chinese people…!

Read more here and the even more in the Herald Tribune here.

 

And the games continue…

The last few days haven’t really been a game for the Olympic torch. On it’s way true Athens, Istanbul, London, Paris and San Francisco it has been met with anti-China demonstrations. - Not quite the smooth prestige project China expected the Olympic Games to be. The torch is now on it’s way to Buenos Aires where they are getting ready for a surprise for the torch party.

The politicians are finally talking about a boycott of the opening ceremony at the Olympic Games, but for the most of them it will properly never come to anymore than talk. There are to many interest in China, financially they can’t afford to boycott China for reel. The cheap production in China is too important for western economy to loose. If western consumers should pay for the Chinese-imported goods to be produced under sustainable conditions, they would have to pay twice the price for the product they pay today. Are the consumers ready to pay for better conditions, or will they just boycott?! The politicians know how many money their national economy will lose if they or their nations companies loose the cheap workforce in China, so there will not be a boycott of China to pressure them in to better human rights, only talk about a boycott of the opening ceremony that can humiliate them a little. But the politicians will properly try to smooth it out to the Chinese government in silence to the (western) public, and only use it as propaganda for their western voters.The fact is that the Chinese economy is the third strongest in the world now, and according to Amnesty International they almost have the worst human rights in the world.

Beside that dialog is properly better that a complete boycott, but all the fuss and talk about it have to make an impact on the regime one might think. But apparently not, according to the Chinese vice ambassador in Denmark Jin Zhijian, it is only a few people protesting, and China does not have a human right issue. Instead he says that the demonstrators should be a shame of there behaviour(!). And that they are humiliating a peace loving people that can be proud of there Human Rights… Well it seems like there is a long way before we can actually agree on this topic.

According to Politiken.dk The International Olympic Committee still hopes that the Olympic Games will be a great event and they are sad about the focus are on China and human rights in stead of the sport event.
– Well maybe they should have thought about that before choosing China as the host. But they are still sure that the actual Olympic Games will be peaceful.

It is clear that the Chinese people still are kept unknown about their own regime actions. They are not exposed to CNN or other alike international media. The Chinese officials tell their story, as they want the Chinese people too hear it. On the front-page of a Chinese newspaper there is a picture of a Tibetan getting arrested in London, and they try to make it seems like it is only the people of Tibet making problems along the way of the torch.

A perfect example on how the Chinese officials are use to the true is how they write is, is that they know proclaim that the torch never where turned of in Paris! Even do everybody else in the global world saw the pictures. But that is apparently not an obstacle for the Chinese officials, they still tell the story they want to believe… Or want everybody else to believe.

There are always a group of Chinese supporters on the torch route. They don’t understand why people are protesting. From there point of view there is nothing wrong in China… Even those in the west with access to other media ignore all the problems in China.

“Hai Ming, 37, a Chinese student of civil engineering at University of California, Davis, about 70 miles east, had come to the torch ceremony on a bus chartered by the Chinese consulate.
Hai said he disagreed with Tibetan protesters who have flooded San Francisco this week. "I think they are crazy," he said. "The Chinese people are very peaceful. They wouldn't do what they are accused of."”

Cited from the Harald Tribute today.

Read the whole article here.

Pictures from politiken.dk

No politics in the Olympic Games?

According to the Chinese officials this summers Olympic Games have nothing to do with politics.

But we all know how the Nazi regime used the Olympic Games to brand there regime, and this type of event is important to the host country. 

In China basic human rights are still violated daily. The regime might be chancing to the better but there is still a long way. Beside the regimes violations, China also have a lot of emigrant workers working under pure conditions to manufacture products to Western consumers. These workers often live under slave like conditions. They work lots of hours and sleep in dorms with lots of people around. The security level of the production is often non-existing, but the workers have no other choice but to travel far away from there families and take these under wages jobs if they want a job at all. 

The Olympic Games in China this summer seems like it is a support to a violent regime that will rather hide there critics than go in to a dialog with them. Therefore are a lot of people protesting about the Olympic Games as the torch moves toward Beijing. 

The picture is from the Herald Tribune where the torch was attack in Turkey yesterday. 

Read about the event here:

Herald Tribune April 3.

Herald Tribune April 4.

Finally the story about the torch, China and Tibet. After the protest in Tibet China will still go true Tibet with the torch, but under a tight security according to China officials. 

Olympics, China and Tibet

The Story of Stuff

A other movie telling it like it is. 

This is the story of why it is a problem that we in the west consume, and use the resources from the rest of the world as if we are the only ones in title to them. It is the story wary pedagogic told about the problems with consumption. How people in non-western countries are forced to moved from there habitats, in order to survive they have to get a job in the industry of producing to western consumption working under pure conditions, using toxic as nobody with a free choice would like to work with. It also show hove the design of the products especially in the US are made not to last. - To make the consumers buy even more at all time. Witch is the opposite of the Danish Design idea, these products are made to last a lifetime. The consumer only have to buy the product of for example Arne Jacobsen or the Brio product for children once, it will typically last a lifetime and even for the next generations to come. But the capitalist industry will only design stuff to last a short time, to keep up the consumption and without thought for the environment and social responsibility. 

The movie is 20 minutes long, but it gives a great view in to the basic problems of consumption. 

The Story of Stuff