Reasons to boycott China & FAQs     

Darfur, Burma, Tibet, Zimbabwe, and many other places, have suffered from China’s malevolent influence.  The United Nations did nothing to help the people of Darfur because they knew that China would use its position as a permanent member of the Security Council to veto any action to protect its oil interests in Sudan.  Its vicious occupation of Tibet has left over a million dead.  China continues to support Mugabe’s regime in Zimbabwe, and the military dictatorship in Burma – no strings attached.  Every time you buy a Chinese product you are paying for this oppression.  However, that is just the tip of the iceberg.  Here are some more of the many reasons to boycott Chinese products.

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Wouldn't a boycott just hurt ordinary Chinese people?

On the face of it, it would appear that boycotting Chinese products would only hurt the ordinary Chinese worker. However, if you look more closely, you will see that it is the Chinese government that benefits most from increased exports. Take Walmart, for example. There is a notional minimum wage in China of around 45 cents an hour, which is barely enough to subsist on. However Walmart only pays around 35 cents an hour. The Chinese government deliberately turns a blind eye to such low wages. Money is power, and the last thing the Chinese government wants is an empowered workforce; hence the vicious repression of independent trade unions.

It follows that while companies like Walmart pay taxes to the Chinese government, the ordinary Chinese people do not receive any of the benefit. The Chinese government operates a slave-wage economy, and calls it economic growth!

Another thing to remember is that the Chinese people have no political voice. They rely on dissidents like Harry Wu to speak for them, and he has made his opinions very clear. He says: "it is the Chinese government that benefits most from foreign trade and investment. The government needs foreign money and technology to maintain and increase its power and to modernize their system of tyranny." (taken from his testimony of 11th April 2000, before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation)

There is another very important point. Many Chinese export goods are made by the estimated 8-20million workers in the infamous Laogai forced labour camps, imposing so-called 'reform through labour'. (Harry Wu spent 18 years there, in horrific conditions).

Are you still happy to buy Chinese goods?

How do I take part in the boycott?
The next time you go shopping and see something you want to buy, STOP & CHECK!! Is it made in China? If so, leave it on the shelf and look for an alternative product. Then TELL THE WORLD about your non-purchase! This is very important. There is no point protesting 'silently'. Both the store manager and the Chinese government have to be made aware that people are boycotting Chinese products, and the reason why. Boycott China suggests several ways to do this:
1. Visit our homepage, where you can publicly pledge not to buy Chinese products because of human and animal rights abuses in China and Tibet.
2. Also on our homepage, fill in the ACTION FORM each time you avoid purchasing a Chinese product. This is very important, as it gives us a way of quantifying the effectiveness of the boycott
3. Download this simple form as a word document, which you can then print. Then, each time you avoid buying a Chinese product, fill in a copy of the form and hand it to the check-out operator or the store manager. DOWNLOAD AS WORD DOCUMENT || DOWNLOAD AS PDF DOCUMENT

I WILL NOT BUY CHINESE PRODUCTS UNTIL HUMAN & ANIMAL RIGHTS ARE RESPECTED IN CHINA! Today I did NOT buy___________________________ in your store because it is/they are made in China. Today I bought_________________________________ in your store, because it was not made in China.

How can I know if something is made in China?
It can often be extremely difficult to identify goods made in China because, depending on which country you are in, there may be no legal requirement for goods to be labeled with their country of origin. Where this is the case, it will be largely up to you to look for labels, or make inquiries with the shopkeeper. We should point out that such a large proportion of all types of goods are now from China, that unless there is a label saying otherwise, there is probably a 90% chance that the product is Chinese! 

Also, do not be fooled by the names or addresses of the distributor/importer which may be printed on labels. These often give a misleading impression that the product is made in your own country. Unless the label specifically uses the words 'made in', the address means nothing.

Thirdly, a product may say 'Made in USA', or 'Made in the EC', or some-such. This may only mean that the product was ASSEMBLED in that area, but constructed from CHINESE COMPONENTS! The uppers of Ecco shoes, for example, are made in China. A similar situation exists with computers and other electronic equipment. Again, it will largely be up to you to make consciencious inquires with the store manager (please tell us about the results of any inquires you make, and we will publish them on our 'Sources of non-Chinese goods' page).

A WORD OF CAUTION: Sometimes goods are labeled 'Made in Macau', or 'Made in Hong Kong'. Remember, these are Chinese colonies!

We can help!
If you are having difficulty finding a non-Chinese version of the article you require, please contact us. We will put out an anonymous request for help to other Buyhard supporters in your area!