China plays down product fears at home/Toymakers face further attack over labour conditions
China plays down product fears at home
By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: August 21 2007 23:12 | Last updated: August 21 2007 23:12
In most countries, prime-time Monday night television is dominated by sitcoms. For Chinese viewers this week, Monday meant not light entertainment but a crash course in manufacturing Christmas decorations, plastic straws and green tea.
The 90-minute special was part of a week-long series of programmes on product safety put together by state broadcasters in an effort to shore up confidence among domestic consumers about products that are made in the country.
The documentaries, which have been given the collective title “Believe in Made in China”, reflect the growing anxiety among China’s leaders that a deluge of stories in overseas media about faulty Chinese goods has begun to have a political impact at home, despite restrictions on mainland reporting of the scandals.
“There is a grudging acknowledgement that some of this stuff has leaked back in through the internet,” said Russell Leigh Moses, a Beijing-based academic. “The programmes are an attempt by the government to convince people that they are on the job.”
Chinese exports such as toys, toothpaste and seafood have suffered a series of recalls in recent months, raising broad questions about the regulation of manufacturing in China. The export problems follow a series of scandals at home over the last three years, which have involved fake baby powder and poisonous antibiotics.
Although formal opinion polls are rare in China, an internet poll conducted earlier this year by Xinhua news agency indicated that product safety – and especially food quality – was becoming a pressing concern. Nearly 92 per cent of the 3,000 respondents said they were worried about food safety and 78 per cent said they thought regulation of food safety was poor.
Research conducted by consultants AT Kearney also concluded that Chinese consumers were increasingly focused on food safety, the result of both media attention and rising affluence. While in 2005, 73 per cent of consumers surveyed said food safety was “highly important”, that figure rose to 93 per cent this year.
“Over the last two years the population has become much more aware of safety issues,” said Zhang Bing, a consultant in the company’s Shanghai office.
Analysts say they do not expect product safety to be the sort of issue that will galvanise middle-class political activism. However, they argue it could damage the government’s reputation for administrative effectiveness.
Monday night’s programme traced the source of a number of products made in China, including a large chunk of the world’s Christmas decorations, which are sold in the eastern city of Yiwu in Zhejiang province. Michael O’Sullivan, secretary-general of the European Chamber of Commerce, told viewers that “in general goods made in China are dependable”.
The programme on Sunday evening took a more defensive tone, as government officials suggested that the scandals were being whipped up by overseas governments worried about China’s economic success.
Li Changjiang, head of the government’s product safety watchdog, said Chinese exports were being “demonised” even though the vast majority met international standards. “As globalisation progresses, Chinese products have more and more of the world market, which is causing some other countries to take note,” he said.
The host of the programme showed the studio audience two products that had been recalled in the US because they used lead paint, and informed them that only minor details were affected – the eyebrows on a toy doll and the red stop sign of a train set. “It’s exaggerated,” Mr Li said of the risks from the toys.
The broadcast underlined that, while parts of the government have been trying to convince international audiences that the safety issue is being taken seriously, other officials have sought to deflect blame on to foreign media and governments.
“The default position of government officials is usually either to crackdown or to deny, and that is what these guys are doing,” said Mr Leigh Moses.
Toymakers face further attack over labour conditions
By Andrew Taylor in London
Chinese toymakers supplying international companies on Tuesday came under fresh attack over product safety and workers’ rights.
Working conditions at toy manufacturers supplying customers such as Disney and Hasbro of the US and Bandai of Japan were described as “devastatingly brutal” by China Labor Watch, a New York-based workers’ rights organisation.
It accused multinational companies of turning “a blind eye to safety” and ignoring labour conditions in supplier factories.
Chinese exports are facing increasing scrutiny abroad. Concerns have been raised over the safety of a number of products including toys, food, textiles and toothpaste. Mattel last week said it was recalling 18.2m toys because of hazards such as use of lead paint.
China Labor Watch said multinationals should pay suppliers a reasonable price for their products to ensure that workers were paid and treated properly. They should also publish the results of factory audits.
By Geoff Dyer in Shanghai
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
Published: August 21 2007 23:12 | Last updated: August 21 2007 23:12
In most countries, prime-time Monday night television is dominated by sitcoms. For Chinese viewers this week, Monday meant not light entertainment but a crash course in manufacturing Christmas decorations, plastic straws and green tea.
The 90-minute special was part of a week-long series of programmes on product safety put together by state broadcasters in an effort to shore up confidence among domestic consumers about products that are made in the country.
The documentaries, which have been given the collective title “Believe in Made in China”, reflect the growing anxiety among China’s leaders that a deluge of stories in overseas media about faulty Chinese goods has begun to have a political impact at home, despite restrictions on mainland reporting of the scandals.
“There is a grudging acknowledgement that some of this stuff has leaked back in through the internet,” said Russell Leigh Moses, a Beijing-based academic. “The programmes are an attempt by the government to convince people that they are on the job.”
Chinese exports such as toys, toothpaste and seafood have suffered a series of recalls in recent months, raising broad questions about the regulation of manufacturing in China. The export problems follow a series of scandals at home over the last three years, which have involved fake baby powder and poisonous antibiotics.
Although formal opinion polls are rare in China, an internet poll conducted earlier this year by Xinhua news agency indicated that product safety – and especially food quality – was becoming a pressing concern. Nearly 92 per cent of the 3,000 respondents said they were worried about food safety and 78 per cent said they thought regulation of food safety was poor.
Research conducted by consultants AT Kearney also concluded that Chinese consumers were increasingly focused on food safety, the result of both media attention and rising affluence. While in 2005, 73 per cent of consumers surveyed said food safety was “highly important”, that figure rose to 93 per cent this year.
“Over the last two years the population has become much more aware of safety issues,” said Zhang Bing, a consultant in the company’s Shanghai office.
Analysts say they do not expect product safety to be the sort of issue that will galvanise middle-class political activism. However, they argue it could damage the government’s reputation for administrative effectiveness.
Monday night’s programme traced the source of a number of products made in China, including a large chunk of the world’s Christmas decorations, which are sold in the eastern city of Yiwu in Zhejiang province. Michael O’Sullivan, secretary-general of the European Chamber of Commerce, told viewers that “in general goods made in China are dependable”.
The programme on Sunday evening took a more defensive tone, as government officials suggested that the scandals were being whipped up by overseas governments worried about China’s economic success.
Li Changjiang, head of the government’s product safety watchdog, said Chinese exports were being “demonised” even though the vast majority met international standards. “As globalisation progresses, Chinese products have more and more of the world market, which is causing some other countries to take note,” he said.
The host of the programme showed the studio audience two products that had been recalled in the US because they used lead paint, and informed them that only minor details were affected – the eyebrows on a toy doll and the red stop sign of a train set. “It’s exaggerated,” Mr Li said of the risks from the toys.
The broadcast underlined that, while parts of the government have been trying to convince international audiences that the safety issue is being taken seriously, other officials have sought to deflect blame on to foreign media and governments.
“The default position of government officials is usually either to crackdown or to deny, and that is what these guys are doing,” said Mr Leigh Moses.
Toymakers face further attack over labour conditions
By Andrew Taylor in London
Chinese toymakers supplying international companies on Tuesday came under fresh attack over product safety and workers’ rights.
Working conditions at toy manufacturers supplying customers such as Disney and Hasbro of the US and Bandai of Japan were described as “devastatingly brutal” by China Labor Watch, a New York-based workers’ rights organisation.
It accused multinational companies of turning “a blind eye to safety” and ignoring labour conditions in supplier factories.
Chinese exports are facing increasing scrutiny abroad. Concerns have been raised over the safety of a number of products including toys, food, textiles and toothpaste. Mattel last week said it was recalling 18.2m toys because of hazards such as use of lead paint.
China Labor Watch said multinationals should pay suppliers a reasonable price for their products to ensure that workers were paid and treated properly. They should also publish the results of factory audits.
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