Well the same could be said of doing business with any country which has a government system you don't agree with. People say that buying American made goods supports imperialism and unjustified war as well as state sanctioned murder. Some Americans say that as well as Europeans and of course the Chinese.
AND
The fact is that one needs to separate government and business if one is going to be able to live. Because if you as a consumer try and base all your buying decisions on what the government of any particular country does then you will literally go crazy unless you choose to be selectively ignorant.
This is reducto ad absurdum. Your argument seems to be "since no nation is perfect all nations are equally flawed." Ergo, who is to say which is worse, supporting Pol Pot or Hitler or supporting the "imperialist" U.S.? By bringing Japanese war crimes from generations ago into the mix you really manage to obfuscate. Bravo. Since we'll "literally go crazy" trying to avoid giving our dollars to a nation which publicly executes those with whom it disagrees, it's better to just not think about it, right?
Well, that is your worldview, but it isn't mine, and it isn't that of many people who live in the United States. We've seen too many once-proud companies who used to manufacture high-quality goods in the U.S. become nothing but decals slapped on Chinese junk. Any of you remember Schwinn bicycles? How about Florsheim shoes? Go into a shoe store today with two hundred bucks, as Fast Eddie Felson would say, and you can come out with a truck load of "Florsheim" shoes.
You can paint a picture of China as a socialist paradise, but I've been there, and I ain't buying it. The playing field isn't level. That's the point. That's why people choose to have "goods" made in China. It's not because they want to support the government's policies. Nobody sings the praises of Chinese goods. You'll never hear anyone say "Like that one buddy? You should. It's a gen-u-wine Chinese-made article." Ever heard of a company outsourcing to China and have the quality of their goods go up?
No that's not my worldview. My world view is that if you want to effect change you cannot do it from the outside. You cannot do it by withdrawing all your money and contact and wagging your finger at another country.
I never said China is a socialist paradise. Please don't put words in my mouth. I said I have LIVED here for three years and related my ON THE GROUND experiences as a resident of this country. And my experiences are still very limited because China is vast with a LOT of diversity.
Yes, I have heard of companies who outsource to China and the quality goes up. In fact I know one of them in the billiard industry.
You would probably be amazed if one were to compile a real list of HIGH QUALITY well-made goods that are made in China. You hear the stories of the shoddy goods and the ones which are deemed dangerous but like all news only the bad makes headlines, not the millions of other products which are made in China that people consume in the USA.
Just a few hours ago I had a talk with restaurant owner here in China. He is Australian. He complained that the restaurant equipment that is imported from China to Australia is high quality and he had expected to be able to purchase the same easily in China and he could not. There is no market domestically for the type of high end well made kitchen equipment that is made in China and exported to Australia.
If a good brand comes to China and they allow their products to become worse then that's the brand owners fault not China's. But I don't even know why we are discussing this? This thread is about Whitten and their issues with a company that is STEALING their IP.
And you know something else? China is getting beat up here and the people who are STEALING from Whitten are
Taiwanese. That's right, they are people who live in a capitalist democracy.
Lastly, here's a newsflash for you. "China" could care less what you think about it and "America" could care less what Chinese people think about it. Your buying habits will not change the way the world is run no matter how much you think it will. You can feel good about yourself by thinking you are making a difference but you aren't.
You know why? Because you can't control everyone else's buying habits. So you give your $400 to a person who makes their case in the USA and they run out and buy a computer made in China. You just bought a computer made in China. And furthermore where does it stop? Does it stop at the US border? Or do you take it all the way to the neighborhood level and buy your goods and services from the people on your block only? What if Joe the Plumber on the next block over is half the price for the same good service?
We aren't allowed to trade with Cuba. It is illegal to buy Cuban made goods. We didn't have much success with our embargo in shutting down their government did we in the past 50 years? So how well do you think your cut-off-China policy is going to work with a country that is four times the size in population, has vast national resources, and can trade with everyone else in the world? If we can't even change an island nation 90 miles off the coast of America what chance do we have with China by employing the same tactics?
To me it's better for Westerners to be here and influence the PEOPLE of China. Show them the better life worth working for, the life worth fighting for. Give them the incentive to change their government by giving them work and financial security.
Or you can just condemn one and half billion people to abject poverty by walling them off from the world.
I am sure that you have the answers to solve all the issues in China with the wave of your pen. In one motion you will change the cultural habits built up over 5000 years.
Dream on.
While you are doing that I will be here making my cases and doing what I can to show the people around me a "better" way to live. Or I could move back to America and write preachy posts from 3000 miles away about how they should behave.
) and I know you have business to conduct, so, you have the last word and I will fade to
