Franm's Profile

Certainly I think China's regulatory practices should be questioned and changed, and god knows, having lived in China for a while, there are all kinds of horrible things in their products. But the reference to the xenophobia just stems from my impression (not on AT comments, but on various other blogs and websites) that people seemed to be focusing the blame SOLELY on China, as if the problem didn't have something to do with Mattel and/or the general business practices of American companies (squeezing their Chinese producers so that in order to squeak ahead by a few cents, Chinese companies have no choice but to search for cheaper and more dubious materials). In my original email to AT, I also pointed out a story in the NYTimes from a few months ago about a factory owner in China whose business was utterly decimated over the lead paint claims. This was no evil sweatshop owner; by all accounts the man was upright and honest, and had devoted his life to his work and his employees. After he closed his business (making sure all his workers were paid fairly first), he then committed suicide in his factory. If Mattel had come forward sooner with its admission, perhaps things would have turned out differently for him.

Anyway, I am absolutely not saying that anyone who questions China is xenophobic. I was merely trying to point out that the view of globalization from China's side is a lot murkier and more complicated than we see from this side of the Pacific.