tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post3758210690206334073..comments2024-03-08T03:18:48.591-05:00Comments on Lotus Reads: A Year Without Made in China: One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy by Sara BongiorniLotus Readshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-84286192743972512922007-11-19T18:29:00.000-05:002007-11-19T18:29:00.000-05:00In response to Victor:You are right about who exac...In response to Victor:<BR/>You are right about who exactly benefits from Chinese made products, but the rules of manufacturing safe products ought to be enforced by the country that makes them. It is known that the manufacturers change their formulas, stuff dumplings with cardboard, paint toys with lead paint- which by the way has been deemed unsafe for decades. It is criminal to knowingly poison the American public and then expect people to still buy their products without a second thought. I think the Chinese would fare much better if they spent their time, money and capital in making China safe and self-sufficient rather than trying to destroy their own environment.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-68481666709076687142007-09-22T11:19:00.000-04:002007-09-22T11:19:00.000-04:00HI, Lotus,Thanks for sharing your idea with us.To ...HI, Lotus,<BR/>Thanks for sharing your idea with us.<BR/>To be honest, I am a Chinese student. I found a lot of ppl here just show their worries about "Made in China". You can say that China is conquering the world by their hight quality and low price products. But in China, a lot of researches show that neither Chinese government nor Chinese ppl gain the large piece of cake from the tag Made in China. It is the international companies who set up factories there. So far as I know, more than 70% products exported from China are manufactured in "foreign-captital" companies. I admit the government did little in investigation and supervising, but it is not proper to say the flood of "Made in China" is a desaster brought by Chinese ppl or Chinese government. Companies in US/Japan/Euro also contribute to that; they take away a very large piece of cake, anyway.(Victor) Xi Wanghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13754647402159056521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-51465741746866275592007-08-08T21:12:00.000-04:002007-08-08T21:12:00.000-04:00This is rather random, and doesn't really belong t...This is rather random, and doesn't really belong to this post...but I just had to stop somewhere and tell you how much I'm enjoying your blog. <BR/><BR/>Always nice to find new and interesting in the blog world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-12483008589069212102007-08-03T15:54:00.000-04:002007-08-03T15:54:00.000-04:00@A Reader ~You're welcome, glad you were able to s...@A Reader ~<BR/><BR/>You're welcome, glad you were able to stop by! <BR/><BR/>Ganeshas made in China??? Why, that's almost as preposterous as a Chinese-made Swiss Army knife which apparently might happen sooner than we think. The Swiss Government has asked for tenders from different companies worldwide, and as of now, China, Taiwan and Bulgaria lead the pack!Lotus Readshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-41478020037579748672007-08-02T09:54:00.000-04:002007-08-02T09:54:00.000-04:00Lotus, You read an amazing variety of interesting ...Lotus, <BR/><BR/>You read an amazing variety of interesting books! Thanks for sharing this.<BR/>I remember reading somewhere that during Ganesh Chaturthi, more and more people are going in for Chinese-made Ganesha idols instead of the traditional clay figures. That was truely disturbing! So is the book's conclusion.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-77546029407115624692007-07-28T20:05:00.000-04:002007-07-28T20:05:00.000-04:00Hi, Sanjay!Thank you for joining in! When it come...Hi, Sanjay!<BR/><BR/>Thank you for joining in! When it comes to the business of economics, of which I know very little, I can use all the information I can get, so thank you!<BR/><BR/>I would like to see a govt pension plan for the elderly in China, there is not much in place at the moment according to the BBC (just in case someone quotes me!). And while the govt works on the pension plan they might like to put more money into quality control,water shortages, public health and pollution as well! True, lots of money is being spent on the military and we know why!<BR/><BR/>Yes, the migration of people from the rural areas of China to the cities has been the greatest population movement in the history of our world, hasn't it? I can only imagine the effect such a migration will have on the families left behind in the villages.<BR/><BR/>Thank you so much for stopping by Sanjay!Lotus Readshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-16464682479338068622007-07-28T19:54:00.000-04:002007-07-28T19:54:00.000-04:00@Canary~ How nice of you to drop by, I will visit...@Canary~ How nice of you to drop by, I will visit soon. Summer and the activities that come along with it have taken over my life, but hopefully, things will go back to normal in September and once the kids go back to school.<BR/><BR/>@Starry ~ Hi, yes, I think we can cut back on products from China if we make, like you say, a conscious effort to do so!<BR/><BR/>@myutopia ~ True! But even if you want to be patriotic now, American goods are increasingly hard to find!<BR/><BR/>@Prize blog ~ Welcome! You are right. European and North American- made electronics are available, but,yes, they are so much more expensive.<BR/><BR/>@gs~<BR/><BR/>Thank you for your input, yes, savings is important because the Chinese government doesn't yet have a pension plan in place for its aging population and even if there is one, it is minimal. However, other factors affecting the economic boom, like cheap Chinese labor from the villages will also come to an end at some point. The villagers are easy to exploit at the moment, but soon they will become savvy and demand more wages, pushing the prices up. I suppose innovation is China's answer, they are going to have to go from imitation to invention if they want to maintain this strong economy, but it would be interesting to see how they go about that, because a savvy workforce would be a headache for government like the one in China!<BR/><BR/>@destitute rebel ~ Welcome and thank you for visiting! Yes, even here, people flock to the Chinese markets rather than the regular food stores because of the variety and the low prices. However, the tainted food stories have succeeded in keeping some people away. I lived in Dubai for 11 years, do I know your restaurant I wonder?Lotus Readshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-89816914777250374922007-07-28T13:47:00.000-04:002007-07-28T13:47:00.000-04:00This should be a good read,I always thought that c...This should be a good read,I always thought that chinese dominance was in manufacturing only but thats untrue. I had been operating a restaurant in Dubai for 2 years and even chinese, vegetables, meat and chicken are almost half price compared to the others.Destitute Rebelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14706187924135646590noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-5951387478911923262007-07-28T08:05:00.000-04:002007-07-28T08:05:00.000-04:00If you don't mind me joining in, gs makes a good p...If you don't mind me joining in, gs makes a good point. <BR/><BR/>The issue is not about money at the state level. China spends a lot on defense and is sitting on a huge amount of foreign exchange reserves. They can use some for some sort of a pension plan maybe?<BR/><BR/>At a local level, China has seen a lot of migration from their hinterlands to the coasts where there are jobs. But not all those who work there have a rosy life or a lot of extra money to spare. Yes some do. Also at this point if people did try to save, a lot of that money that goes back in to the economy would instead stay out. I am not sure the Chinese authorities would want that. <BR/><BR/>Their concern is order too, they want a populace working and spending not worrying too much about personal rights or strife in society. Not to question what gs is saying just that there is another side to this thats all. :-)karmichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10973922761187532706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-18280160413428262292007-07-27T22:03:00.000-04:002007-07-27T22:03:00.000-04:00hi lryou have a very valid point.the one-child pol...hi lr<BR/>you have a very valid point.the one-child policy can become counterproductive. however,currently,due to the economic boom,the standard of living of people has been going up with many having surplus cash.they are spending this money on conspicuous consumption.beyond a point, they would start saving and the savings as a whole would go up in china like say in japan.money would then be available for taking care of elders. also,the government is actively intervening in providing assistance to senior citizens.if either of these lose steam for some reason then the elderly could get into a spot.gshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04576528133434077283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-25115521637387884732007-07-27T21:31:00.000-04:002007-07-27T21:31:00.000-04:00Going Anti-china is not a long term solution. Chin...Going Anti-china is not a long term solution. China, has had the economic advantage because of its immense cost-cutting factor, offcourse you can continue to buy non-chinese electronics but the fact is it affects your budget (finances)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-91909754440574100772007-07-27T12:30:00.000-04:002007-07-27T12:30:00.000-04:00Sounds interesting. Growing up in Detroit, the aut...Sounds interesting. Growing up in Detroit, the auto capital of the world, buying American was highly stressed.Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07149003661590866046noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-44404861250827396852007-07-27T12:17:00.000-04:002007-07-27T12:17:00.000-04:00Intersting book Lotus, It is so hard to find thing...Intersting book Lotus, It is so hard to find things not made in china,lately after the pet food scandal I am worried about eating any food made in China. It is going to be really hard but I think we have to make a conscious effort not to.starryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00250437477875291892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-20905026639467236252007-07-27T09:28:00.000-04:002007-07-27T09:28:00.000-04:00Heyy.... Long time since u dropped by? Canary says...Heyy.... Long time since u dropped by? Canary says hi :)Canaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16617225970084841398noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-4879418162312963512007-07-27T07:14:00.000-04:002007-07-27T07:14:00.000-04:00@Radha ~ lol, I checked, my book was printed in th...@Radha ~ lol, I checked, my book was printed in the US but I have no clue where the ink or paper came from! ;)<BR/><BR/>@Gentle Reader ~ Thanks, will probably include it with my next post or the post after that.<BR/><BR/>@Jenclair ~ You met Sara Bongiorni!?! That is pretty darn cool! And lol@ what your husband said, I feel the same way about myself sometimes! :) Is Sara's husband a Steve McQueen look alike? She keeps stressing in the book that he is. Of all the questions I could have asked you about your meeting with Sara...I sound so shallow, don't I? :) Anyway, thanks for sharing this with me, I think it's so cool you got to meet her!<BR/><BR/>@beenzzz ~ True, it would be impossible to eradicate China from our lives completely and there's no reason for us to do that either, I would just like to ensure I am not consuming tainted products and that the products were made using voluntary, not forced, labor.Lotus Readshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-35102445199140510652007-07-27T07:04:00.000-04:002007-07-27T07:04:00.000-04:00hi, gs!Thank you for your response! China is trul...hi, gs!<BR/><BR/>Thank you for your response! China is truly fascinating and the way that it's going right now seems to have most economists believing that it could be the world's next big economic power, indeed, China itself has predicted that its economy will overtake that of America's in 30-35 years time, but, with this one-child policy and with Mao's baby boomers becoming a part of the greying population(most will be in their 80's or 90's in 30 years) it seems to me that China is going to have a huge aging population on their hands with much fewer people on hand to work as cheap labor.<BR/><BR/>Also, who is going to take care of this aging population? Most people have only one child who will be expected to look after them but a major health problem could bankrupt the entire family. I wonder if this new generation will have extra money to spend on luxury or frivolous goods and will this impact China's huge economic growth ?Lotus Readshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-56862021616250912972007-07-26T23:01:00.000-04:002007-07-26T23:01:00.000-04:00It seems pretty near impossible to put a product b...It seems pretty near impossible to put a product ban on China. I just think as long as I don't purchase pet food made in China (even though we have no way of truly knowing) everything might (with fingers crossed) be ok. I mean my pet kitty, Izzie, not for my nourishment. :)Beenzzzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15167283834612916683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-19065198270867830662007-07-26T22:34:00.000-04:002007-07-26T22:34:00.000-04:00Sara and her husband are friends of my daughter an...Sara and her husband are friends of my daughter and her husband. <BR/>We met them at my granddaughter's 2nd birthday party, and Sara had made Mila a little "ballet tutu." Erin (my daughter) told us about their <I>China-less</I> experiment, but I'd forgotten about it until I read your post. When I told my husband, he just laughed and said he'd seen Sara on television talking about the book...and if I'd take my head out of a book occasionally, I might be able to keep current. Sometimes, it really is a small world!jenclairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06046532245054911248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-41358392591167107092007-07-26T19:34:00.000-04:002007-07-26T19:34:00.000-04:00Hi again! Hope you don't mind but I'm tagging you...Hi again! Hope you don't mind but I'm tagging you for the Blogging Tips Meme, so check it out on my blog. And no worries if you can't play!Gentle Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09102364083044797155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-965314423519329482007-07-25T22:27:00.000-04:002007-07-25T22:27:00.000-04:00Btw, I bet the book was printed on China-made pape...Btw, I bet the book was printed on China-made paper with China-made ink :-)Radhahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17019567538933256974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-26239125509227078752007-07-25T22:25:00.000-04:002007-07-25T22:25:00.000-04:00Nobody can escape globalisation today, and i would...Nobody can escape globalisation today, and i would think its a futile exercise to look for anything that doesnt have at least one chinese component in it. I would love to see the quality of products coming out of China go up; but till then our alternatives are few.Radhahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17019567538933256974noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-10989448988278245822007-07-25T20:51:00.000-04:002007-07-25T20:51:00.000-04:00hello lrunlike taiwan,japan and korea which are sm...hello lr<BR/>unlike taiwan,japan and korea which are smaller countries by population,china is huge.the world's most populous.it believes in mass production.even for a small product like say an electric ceiling fan,the capacity created for production would be ten to fifteen times what anybody else would do.once you create such large capacities you have to produce in huge quantities even to break even.their manpower availability at low cost and high productivity enable them to do so.in my opinion,they would become the dominant economic power very soon.they are already moving to higher addded value products but their mass production will have to continue in the forseeable future.gshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04576528133434077283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-59371248134962418842007-07-25T15:11:00.000-04:002007-07-25T15:11:00.000-04:00@Megs ~ lol, your mom is way ahead of us it would ...@Megs ~ lol, your mom is way ahead of us it would seem :) I hope she likes the book! Another place to watch out for is restaurants, I think a big chunk of the seafood menu depends on fish from China. I will never look at an "All you can eat Seafood Buffet" with the same longing again! :)<BR/><BR/>@Jyotsna ~ True, it's a wonderful lesson, this book truly makes you sit up and take notice of how far we have let China in!<BR/><BR/>@Gautami ~ A tiny comment, but it packs a punch! :) I am sure China is in India, but not to the degree it is here, no?Lotus Readshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-42972498651579951562007-07-25T12:19:00.000-04:002007-07-25T12:19:00.000-04:00China is in India too...China is in India too...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12738985.post-78814480764957237082007-07-25T11:40:00.000-04:002007-07-25T11:40:00.000-04:00@Diya ~ They definitely seem to have the monopoly...@Diya ~ They definitely seem to have the monopoly on the garment industry here in North America.<BR/><BR/>@Angela ~ What concerns me is China's dismal human rights record and no clear account of what goods come out of its forced labor camps of which, if Amnesty International is to be believed, there are plenty. This is what puts me off buying Chinese goods and yes, if they improved working conditions in China perhaps I wouldn't feel so bad about contributing to their economy.<BR/><BR/>@gs ~ Great point and thank you for being a fan:) I am a big fan of your blog too! I agree, the answer is not a boycott because no one will suffer more than us (North Americans) if that should happen. I do wonder however, how long CHina will continue to be the factory for the world? If they want to sustain and build their economy they are going to have to stop manufacturing for the world and start creating their own high value products and building their own international brands. Taiwan, Korea and Japan were all in the business of manufacturing for the world at one time, but they've moved on. Wonder what will happen if China decides to do that, and it will, it's only a matter of time.Lotus Readshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02081192215823615529noreply@blogger.com