Thursday, June 25, 2009

I Got My Vice But This One Appalled Me

Behind every great fortune lies a great crime- Honoré de Balzac

I smoke. Before, I used up two packs of cigarette a day, but since I got married, I gradually decreased my intake. At present, I consume six or seven sticks or a pack in 3 days. With a little more determination, maybe someday I’ll quit.

What ever unpleasant habit I got, may it be detrimental to my health, no one is to blame but myself. It’s a matter of personal choice really. But what got my attention and upset me is this. It doesn’t matter if these officials backed down. The point was they tried to implement a sociopathic policy.

Fact: China has 350 million smokers. Each year about one million die from smoking-related diseases.

I wonder what kind of moral values these government officials adhere to by forcing government employees to a habit in order to save an economy. Do they think its “patriotic” or perhaps “nationalistic” to get smoke-related diseases in exchange for floating a sinking industry? Are Chinese lives so cheap that they are willing to sacrifice it recklessly in favor of some Tai-pan to recover his investment? If they can do these dastardly acts to their own people, how much more when it comes to non-Chinese consumers?

Recently, we heard of Chinese products that are harmful to humans. From lead on toys to melamine in milk, not to mention those that got over-looked because of sheer volumes dumped cheap to other countries. I don’t mind if markets are flooded with imitation products from that country. I don’t mind if it wantonly disregards copy-right laws. I don’t mind if it’s lacking in quality, as long as it was made, keeping in mind, humans are its end user. It may be cheap, a much sought after deal in this trying times. But in the long run, at what price are we going to pay for patronizing it? I think adding a few riyals to buy a more decent good is much cheaper than a hospital bill or worst a 4x6 lot in a memorial park.

I once admired China for its meteoric rise as an economic giant. But behind its great riches lies, God only knows, insurmountable violation of human rights, unfair labor practices, manipulative one-sided loan bargaining and in the case of Darfur, lives and property lost, all in the name of “percentage return of investment”.

From now on, I won’t buy consumable goods from that country. I may not make a difference or cause any dent on its economic infrastructure… but it’s a start.

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P.S. – I’d like to thanks Pen for pointing out this article to me.

21 comments:

  1. tama ka. huwag galit.
    teka, ganyan din dito ah. nananahimik sa probinsiya ang mga magsasaka, biglang nanakawan ng lupain hanggang matuyot ang bayan. hmm.

    ini-export din natin ang mga nanay, tatay, anak, apo para buhayin ang mga hindi naman nila responsibilidad dapat gaya ng mga kapatid na sangkaterba ang anak, auntie na sangkaterba ang anak.

    ayan. malungkot na ang imahe. tama na. huwag galit.

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  2. atticus, I guess there is no such thing as a perfect government, no?

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  3. what a desperate attempt to save an economy.

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  4. ha...(iling iling muna ako.)di kaya ng powers ko.grabe mas baliktad pa pala ang utak kesa dito sa lupang buhangin.

    sabagay wala talagang perpekto..nasa tao parin kung susunod sila...

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  5. ganona na kadesperate ang China? In Singapore, sobrang bawal maghandcarry ng cigarettes... ang laki ng fine. bawal din magsmoke sa hindi smoking areas....

    tapos sa China ineencourage pa? at may requirements pa talaga... tsk..tsk...

    i am smoking but i don't influence even a single friend to try it.... grrrr....

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  6. crazy stuff eh! para palang me smoking contest dun! buti na lng, umatras din ang mga eng-eng na proponent. you will boycott chinese products? good luck. lahat na lang yata made in china na ngayon. hehehehe

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  7. arghhh... this news really sickens me :( But what can you expect. China dresses like a democratic country but is still communist at heart.

    Here the board of sensors even proposed to rate movies that have smoking scenes in them as "restricted". True, smoking is injurious to one's health but in a democracy it is impossible to completely rid of it.

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  8. what can i say, i have never been a supporter of china products, i have once had a chinese doll but it smelled so gah! that i wanted to have it checked for lead content, the smell alone seems positive to me...

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  9. Huh!

    Come to Gongan County (in China)- the Marlboro Country...

    More and More cigarettes not to waste their money but to save their economy... Enjoying the 'taste of magic', while risking the health of the public!

    Champion talaga! Tsk, tsk, tsk!

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  10. bakit kaya hindi na lang pinag donate yung mga government employees no? Gusto pang bigyan ng cancer. hahaha Minsan talaga yang power nakakaduling yan. Kita mo at ibang iba na kung mag isip yung mga government officials. hehe

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  11. hindi ako naninigarilyo. ewan ko ba. hindi ko lang mahanap ang sarap ng usok. pero mas delikado ang 2nd hand smoke di ba? kaya pinagiisipan ko pa rin. hahaha.

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  12. I don't think I will ever be an admirer of China. I find it hard to admire a country that has no respect for human rights. I'll pick a Western democracy anytime over any totalitarian government.

    I never really smoked but my father did. He quit more than 30 years ago but it weakened his lungs.

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  13. madjik, hindi pa naman kapit sa patalim ang kalagayan pero gusto na nilang laslasin ang leeg ng kababayan nila. : (

    theo, an dito ka na ba?

    ever, kung totu-osin mas ma-amo pa ang tagarito kung ikumpara sa mga intsik, ano?

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  14. Azel, alam kong maraming bawal dyan sa Singapore, pero lahat yan pinag-iisipang mabuti ng otoridad para sa kapakanan ng nakakarami.

    R-yo, consumable goods lang naman, as in pagka-in. : )

    bw, they are experimenting if socialism and capitalism will go hand-in-hand.

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  15. sheng, good for you. : )

    RJ, lol, okay yang ah, may patalastas pa!

    Ka Rolly, tama nga yung kasabihan about "absolute power corrupts absolutely".

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  16. ardyey, huwag mo ng subukan pards, magastos na, hindi pa okay sa katawan. And that's coming from a cigarette smoker. : )

    Panaderos, hanga lang naman ako sa economic turn-around nila. But the "mean does not justify the end". : (

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  17. As Mark Twain said, "a (bad) habit is a (bad) habit and not to be flung out of the window but coaxed downstairs a step at a time."

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  18. Abaniko, okay yan ah! and when you reached the door. kick him out in the butt. : )

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  19. This is why I've observed in most of the despotic regime - regards for conserving human lives is not mandatory or even a sacred obligation. The end justifies the means rules. I can only surmise that in mainland China,their population control program is not meeting their expectation. That policy perhaps is intended to boost the effectivity of reducing their population without initiating a war.

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  20. Trosp, bat hindi na lang selective termination (olds, crippled and with mental disability) para mas mabilis. Total, garapalan na rin lang.

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