A thousand words

March 16th, 2008 | By Kelsey | No Comments »

Foshan, China

Xing in China

March 3rd, 2008 | By Kelsey | 2 Comments »

I’ve noted the hotel rooms in China are equipped for nights of passion. I’ve written about the rise of Chinese promiscuity. I even wrote about Chinese hookers and ice cream. Today, on CNN there’s yet another report on xing (sex) in China.

There are several things from the piece that freak me out. The first is about the rooms that young couple rent by the hour to get their xing on:

A sign on the wall warned: “If the linens are too dirty, you will lose your deposit.”

They don’t change the sheets!

And ever more disturbing:

A walk-in abortion costs $140 at the Haidian Maternal and Child Health Hospital, a large public hospital in northwest Beijing. Too pricey? Skip the anesthesia and the price falls to $55.

A thousand words…

March 2nd, 2008 | By Kelsey | No Comments »

China, Olympics, and human rights…oh my!

February 29th, 2008 | By Kelsey | No Comments »

Ricky Reilly might be gone, but the back page of Sports Illustrated is still pumping out some worthwhile pieces. S.L. Price wrote one about the Olympic committee granting China this year’s summer Olympics with the hopes that China would work on its human rights. But they haven’t. The Olympics are here and the international community and the Olympic committee are turning a blind-eye.

Here’s an excerpt:

China? In the seven years since being awarded the Games it has emerged as an economic superpower — potent enough to welcome the Olympics even as it freely flouts the Olympic spirit. Why should China keep its vow on human rights? No country will boycott the Games, and no sponsor will pull out of them, if it means losing a foothold in the market of the future.

I think about everything in terms of the family I met in China - Li, Zhoun, and their son Lin Xin. China is growing, but the wealth isn’t being shared. Even if it was, would it really matter? Lin Xin’s parents might make more money than the workers I met in Bangladesh, but the Bangladeshi’s have a better chance of standing up for their rights. And it’s hard to put a price on that.

3,400 words…

February 25th, 2008 | By Kelsey | 2 Comments »

That’s how many I wrote about the world’s largest dam today. If you look close at the bottom of the pic you can see fishermen catching the world’s smallest fish (note: you can’t see the fish).

The sentence of the day/Today’s tongue twister

February 19th, 2008 | By Kelsey | 2 Comments »

In front of the flip flop factory, the flip flop fabricators wear flip flops.

How fun is that? I’m having an awesome day writing and that sentence just made it twice as awesome.

Hard to swallow, my flip flops

February 11th, 2008 | By Kelsey | 2 Comments »

The people that make our flip flops often work 15-16 hours per day seven days a week. I don’t imagine that this complies with any worker laws, regulations, or compliances anywhere in the world. That’s why I gave the passage below from Deckers Outdoor’s webpage the ol’ “bullshit” sneeze.

Deckers We do not manufacture our footwear. We outsource the manufacturing of our Teva, Simple and UGG footwear to independent manufacturers in China. We also outsource the manufacturing of our UGG footwear to independent manufacturers in New Zealand and Australia. We require our independent contract manufacturers and designated suppliers to adopt our Factory Charter and to comply with all local laws and regulations governing human rights, working conditions and environmental compliance, before we are willing to place business with them. We require our licensees to demand the same from their contract factories and suppliers. We have no long-term contracts with our manufacturers. As we grow, we expect to continue to rely exclusively on independent manufacturers for our
sourcing needs.

I was told that China has stricter labor laws than what we have in the USA so it’s highly unlikely that the factory I visited that makes Tevas meets them. But in China, the law and practice are two very different things. Deckers is probably not any more or less guilty than other shoe manufacturers that source in China, which is pretty much all of them.

Deckers is trying to capitalize on the sustainability movement, but how long before they start trying to capitalize on the social-conscience movement and offer products by workers who don’t spend every waking minute gluing, stitching, and packing?

I found this passage on their website, too. (Again, I’ve highlighted the points that I find hard to swallow):

We do the right thing by assuring that our manufacturers do not employ child, forced, indentured, or convict labor. We openly and proudly comply with guidelines set forth by Amnesty International that recognized these Human Rights standards in the workplace. How can we be sure? Easy. We have full access to our factories, and we grade them several times a year against our standards. This helps us work closely with our manufacturers to ensure that safety measures like adequate lighting, healthy air, access to first aid, set minimum wages and protection against mandatory overtime, and safe workstations are implemented.

I would drive 45 mph in a 35 mph zone if there weren’t police officers that would give me a ticket. Wouldn’t you? Self-policing just doesn’t work.

Here’s more thoughts on my flip flops.

Honoring me or a coincidence?

February 7th, 2008 | By Kelsey | 4 Comments »

Today, is the Chinese New Year, but since today was yesterday in China that means 1.3 billion Chinese were bringing in the New Year on my birthday. So, I ask, does the New Year just happen to fall on my birthday or is the world’s most populous nation honoring my recent visit?

A thousand words…a game, a smoke, and some groceries

January 27th, 2008 | By Kelsey | No Comments »

China wants cheap stuff

January 23rd, 2008 | By Kelsey | No Comments »

At the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland the world complained that China doesn’t buy enough stuff from the rest of us.

China’s response: “Just sell more things to us cheaper than made in China!”

Reported on the NY Times Davos Diary.