Interesting Indian mentality

By China Watcher

I have not been able to write anything of late either due to the dearth of anti-China news other than the daily over-saturated China’s food quality issues on melamine which I think has been blown out of proportion by the Western media. On a personal level, I did not deny the fact that from all these negative publicities, which to a greater degree, will push China to introduce a result-oriented, cost-effective food monitoring mechanism with less avenues for corruptions especially to improve the Chinese people’s confidence towards the food production process in the world’s fastest growing economy. I am not unduly concern about China food exports as the West and other importers’ nations constituted a small percentage of the total production volume.

But there was this piece of news report that caught my eye about the Indians communities (in India) constant use of the Chinese as the sole barometer (or an easy punching bag) whenever there is a rare progress made in the economic and scientific fields, much to the envy of much of its readers like myself.

If we revisit 50 years ago to the days of the two great Asian statesmen, Chou En-Lai and Jawaharlal Nehru, we would have noticed that both China and India were developing nations with a high percentage of its people living under the United Nation’s defined poverty status. The size of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of both the countries was about the same. Unfortunately, there was an outbreak of hostilities in the short Sino-Indian war in 1962 over certain territorial disputes along its borders which remain unresolved till to this day. Since then, both of them have embarked on their very own economic development strategies and growth programs.

India is believed to be the largest democracy bogged down by its heavy bureaucratic elected government, with countless differing opinions which would take ages to arrive at a much needed compromise like for instance the inherent difficulty to secure a position even for a simple matter to build a steel plant over a highly sensitive and populated river. China, on the other hand, was embroiled in the Cultural Revolution which set them back, possibly 10-15 years. Fortunately, the course of the “revolution” was short and it requires the foresight of an inspiring leader to chart an “open-door” economic policy in 1979.

Today, we could see the glaring differences between the state of economic development between China and India. China’s coastal cities are booming with high rise buildings and mega-structures which would have been impossible 30 years ago. Shanghai is gradually but slowly taking its place as one of the dynamic financial centers across Asia, possibly eclipsing Hong Kong in the near future. India’s development path is sporadic and its cities are clogged up due to poor planning. If you drive in Mumbai, you need to be “street-wise” to avoid crashing into its hordes of pedestrians. The only bright spark in its economic development is the successful creation of Hyderabad as the Information Technology and Outsourcing Center for Western corporations.

About two weeks ago, when India successfully launches its lunar probe, there was a full round of applause from the Indian scientists on its space achievements who apparently were not provoked but openly proclaimed out of an inert psychological “beat China” desire as reflected in the many nationalistic comments, "We're catching up! We're better than China in some areas and we can beat China”.

The prideful Indians, though not glaring, and tainted with sheer jealously, were dented on many occasions when China commenced its first nuclear program in the 60s, China’s own “astronaut” from its indigenous space program in 2003, the many successfully mega business-ventures, the success of China’s diversified industrial growth, the 30-years of sustainable economic growth, the significant achievement in its sports and the current GDP size which is more than three times the size of its own.

In China, the people are not bothered with what India is doing. The Chinese are looking at the US as a country to benchmark against in its economic and scientific developments. The Chinese being pragmatic recognized that they still have a long way to go before they could match the US in the areas of scientific development and space exploration. But the Chinese are slowly working on its weaknesses in its quest to be a developed nation, possibly in 40 years’ time.

The support and the all-weathered partnership with India’s rival, Pakistan, also does not help to build trust and even though efforts have been made especially in the past 10 years to strengthen bilateral relations but China is still view within the Indian circles as a hidden “enemy” which India must always be on top in terms of defense.

The Western media hyped up reports that India will surpass China in terms of economic and technological excellence with a projected GDP’s standing next to China, overtaking the US, in 2042 did not help to reduce India’s highly charged emotions and nationalistic sentiments which were largely vented against China.

I believe China has always viewed India as an important neighbor and also an equal partner in which closer economic cooperation will indisputably advance their present economic status and prosperity of the two countries for its people, creating the next economic engine of growth for the world.

The Indians should monitor and measure its own economic and scientific progress from within its targeted objectives and goals based on its internal resources rather than comparing with China, in almost all its major achievement to date.

On a final note, the Chinese holds very strongly to its Confucian values which is present in other East Asian countries as well (including South Korea and Japan) and I have no doubt these highly disciplined traits will continue to bring measured success to China in the areas of economic, cultural and scientific (space included) developments. Perhaps, we may see a Chinese winning a science related Nobel Prize in the not too distant future.

China should retaliate strongly on EU's award of human rights to the West's promoted Chinese activist

By China Watcher

EU's award of its European human rights award to one of its activists, Hu Jia, is a clear sign that the EU is out to provoke China's patience on the issue. The parliament head commented that it is sending a clear message to China that the authorities in China need to give more prominence on human rights to its people. What type of rights? The European standards?

This is a gross interference in the affairs of the Chinese.

I hope the Chinese government will be able to take a more stronger stance by boycotting all rights dialogue with the EU and also, to put EU relationship at a lower level. It looks as though China's protest has fallen on deaf ears and this involves the plea from the majority of the Chinese people here and that is why China should take a more firmer retaliation on this matter.

Further, I believe the actions of the European Commission on human rights is going to be counter-productive and provoking act like this will hardly move a potential superpower like China.

To China, there is a clear need to diversify the country's economic activities from depending too much on Europe and US.

Taiwan’s opposition group is out to stir more troubles

By China Watcher

Chen Yunlin, the appointed Chinese negotiator and the head of the Association governing Straits relations, will make a landmark visit to Taiwan either in late October or early November under the invitation of the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou, who is perceived by Western media to be a more China-friendly government.

These opposition members and its pro-independence activists plan to stage the biggest rally this weekend as a protest against China's continued claim of sovereignty over the breakaway island.

According to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) representative, the party will use the protest to display its power to show that they are not supportive of the progressive reconciliation effort made by the government and the mainland. Saturday's demonstrators will also be demanding that Beijing apologize to Taiwan for selling milk and other products tainted with the chemical melamine. If I am not wrong, China through its State media had already apologized to the Taiwanese public for exporting tainted milk products to the island. So, what is the fuss?

Chen’s visit is expected to discuss matters on establishing closer shipping and air cargo links. The opposition (DPP), of which its former Chairman and President, Chen Shui-bian is under investigation for corruption, is attempting to thwart the warming of relationship between the present government and the mainland.

Trade and travel links between China and Taiwan have been severely limited since 1949, but talks in June 2008 led to the first regular direct flights between the island and the mainland in nearly six decades.

Chen's number two Zhang Mingqing was jostled and shoved to the ground by pro-independence activists initiated by the DPP during his visit to the island earlier this week. Do we really need this kind of outward violent and unruly behavior promoted by the DPP? In Chinese traditional customs, a perceived “enemy” guest must still be accorded the best possible hospitality when he calls at the host home, although his untrustworthy antics and devious back-stabbing are being constantly monitored in the courts.

As usual, in the Western press line of reporting, the same sentence keeps repeated very often - “China and Taiwan split in 1949 at the end of a civil war, but China claims the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification and has threatened an invasion if it declares independence”. I reiterate, once again, that majority of the countries, except for about 14 or 16 small nations recognized the sovereignty of China over Taiwan but the Western media keep harping that only China claims the island as part of its territory. Isn’t this continuous parroting of the same message tantamount to “brain washing” of its readers whether consciously or unconsciously. Fortunately, there are still a lot of smart readers in the world.

Personally, I think reconciliation talks are the best solution on offer to reduce the political and military tensions created by the previous administration that last for 8 long unproductive years. A government survey which was loosely conducted revealed that 50 percent were positive about Chen’s visit and believed that it would help Taiwan to further ease tensions with Beijing and possibly, to allow mainland authorities to understand that democracy principles, other than the unruly behavior of its elected representatives, can co-exists and be part of Chinese societies when the electorate are more mature. Linkages with China will also allow trade to flourish improving the economic conditions and livelihood of the average Taiwanese.

The people of Taiwan should reject the uncompromising stance and the dangerous independence overtures of the main Opposition party who is only out to stir troubles without any end in mind. Moving Taiwan towards independence will only bring catastrophic consequences.

Arms sales to Taiwan, China responds rightfully by canceling and postponing military exchanges with US

By China Watcher

There is a common saying that you cannot have both the cakes and enjoy eating it as well. The double-faced US, self-appointed supreme power of the world, in its normal unilateral way arrogantly informed other nation that this is the only deal on the table, “Take it or leave it”. And of course, the US would use its own standards to justify its decision in order to show that it is listening and that it is the best course of solution for everyone. Most of the reasoning has more to do with protecting US interest. So it is just a lot of cocky stories.

In response to the Pentagon proposed arm sales to Taiwan worth US$6.5 billion for US Congress notification, the Chinese has responded within its authority to cancel or postpone several military exchanges with the United States. This would comprise senior officials level visits and exchanges involving humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief issues that had been scheduled to take place before the end of November.

A high ranked US official commented that the Chinese reaction is unfortunate and these may results in missed opportunities. I would not give a damn of missed opportunities. This is more to do with the respect of Chinese sovereign rights over Taiwan and the US had so many times mentioned insincerely that there is only one China but promoting actions that is the opposite. So how could you trust the US?

The US is the only country in the world who still feels remorseful for “betraying the Taiwanese” when it officially recognized the People Republic of China in 1979. To placate itself of being a “traitor” it passed a controversial Taiwan Relations Act to tell the US residents that while it recognized a “communist” government it is under an obligation to protect Taiwan (or US interest in Asia). But the Act runs counter to the Joint Communiqués signed between the US and China to establish diplomatic linkages and relationship between the people of both countries.

Do you think the Chinese government can accept this? Obviously not and so far, the Chinese can only protest and make its voices heard across the Pacific but as it gets stronger and more influential, and the US is getting weaker, we’ll see whether the double-faced US can really hold its ground based on the US-Taiwan Relations Act. By the way, the US is the ONLY country which still sells weapons to Taiwan and also, the ONLY country which has a unilateral act as the Taiwan Relations Act. I believe no other trustworthy country in the world who has established genuine diplomatic relationship with China would act this way.

The selling of weapons to a state of which a country has sovereign right is like giving a gun to a disobedient kid who has a highly disciplined father so that the parent will not be able to reconcile with the liberal son even though the father has many times said he will only use the cane if the son follows the step-father.

According to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the package includes 330 Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missiles and associated equipment worth up to 3.1 billion dollars. The advanced missile defense system has never been sold to Taiwan before. The Pentagon is also proposing selling Taiwan 30 AH-64 Apache Longbow attack helicopters and 1,000 Hellfire missiles to beef up its anti-armor capabilities, and for close air support of its ground forces. Are the helicopters defensive in nature?

In the proposal it mentioned that Taiwan has requested to buy 31 UGM-84L submarine-launched Harpoon anti-ship missiles and 182 Javelin guided missiles with 20 Javelin command launch units. The missiles are portable anti-tank weapons.

The Chinese side had already sternly warned the US of the impending arms sales which would affect bilateral relationship and it is of no surprise that the Chinese military has temporary called off all military exchanges with the US.

To address common security challenges, it is important to build trust between the two powerful militaries but the selling of arms to a province which is recognized as a part of China, it actually creates more mistrusts.

Besides, the usage of the Act, the US has also tried to justify its sales by saying that China’s military expansion leads other to hedge and one way is to arm its allies. But it will come a time even if a country’s hedges, would this be sufficient to prevent an outright invasion if there is no intervention from a bigger power. Historically, small nations are swallowed by bigger and stronger nations and the course and outcome of war is still the same. China is a big country and in 20 years’ time, hedging against an invasion would be useless. Even the Pentagon think-tank knows about it but they are still pushing sales trying to build comfort and misleading the American public. Personally, to deal with a potential superpower, it is important to build trust with the Chinese military and getting them more involved responsibly in international security programs.

The Western media always end its article with the words that Taiwan and the mainland have been governed separately since they split in 1949 at the end of a civil war, but Beijing sees the island as part of its territory that is awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

The majority of the countries who have established diplomatic status with China recognized that there is only one China and that China has sovereign rights over Taiwan but why must the media continually emphasize that only Beijing sees it as part of its territory and not them. Are the media implying that these countries do not recognize Beijing’s right over Taiwan? This is why I have over the years become less trustful of western news agencies because of its hidden anti-China crusade.

China is slowly closing the gap with the US in space technology

By China Watcher

On Thursday, 25 September 2008, at 9.10 pm local time, Shenzhou VII blasted off from a remote desert site in Jiuquan without any hiccups and, the craft eventually shifted from an oval orbit to a more stable round orbit about 350 kilometers above Earth. Jiuquan! we had a lift off was proclaimed by the scientist and engineers which congregate at the Space Control Centre. The most prominent reverberation was that the trip had demonstrated to the world that China has progressively closed the space technological gap with the US and the West, and hopefully to match the West space prowess and in particular, the US in the future.

It cannot be denied that in terms of the quality and appearance of the craft, China was at least 30 years behind the US. But the ability of the Chinese to build a reliable 3-man spacecraft on its own, perfecting the Long March 2F rockets and to perform the spacewalk (though only 15 minutes long), which in the past only 2 nations had been able to master this particular risky feat, is in itself a tremendous achievement for a country which only seriously committed to a manned space program about 16 years ago.

Another very significant development for China is the government’s confidence in broadcasting the launch event live on state television. Before the launch, the selected “taikonauts” were introduced to the media and the people in a specially arranged ceremony. The live telecast of the launching of the Shenzhou VII and the lunar probe in 2007, demonstrated that the Chinese government is willing to be more open and transparent in its space program as compared to the brief video clips on news channels for its earlier space missions. The possibility that the event may go very wrong and the losing “face” syndrome in Chinese culture is always present but the government preferred the live mode, and I wish to commend admirably of the sound decision which may be a prelude to an open government for the Chinese people.

For more than a decade, the U.S. government backed by the neo-conservative Congress representatives was the main culprit in rejecting Beijing's overtures to join the 15-nation International Space Station (ISS) Club. Besides being the main technology contributor and the main financial backer for the ISS, the US do possesses lots of influence and hence, the voting always tilted towards the US stance to block a China invitation to the space club.

The US did not outwardly provide any reasons for its decision but space experts know that it has more to do with its self-centered objectives of being the supreme space power and also, the hidden fear that China may apply to its military development whatever advanced space technologies the country’s may acquire through its participation in the elite space club.

The latter line of argument is seriously flaw as we already noted that space technologies are the core element in advancing one’s military warfare if satellites and laser-type weapons are to be widely used in the future. No independent nation with a proper thinking mind would use its space advancement strictly for commercial purposes and benefits. Even the hypocritical US’s NASA programs are fully funded by the government and if I am not wrong the US do apply, to a large extent, these space technologies in its military for example, in mapping war zone using satellites and enhancement of missile precision and most important, the development of a reliable missile defense shield.

Who appointed the US to set the standard and why must she or any other permitted Western nations be the only people who can apply the core space technologies to its military? Perhaps, it is because China does not share its so-called “liberal and western set values”. I am fully aware that any countries which do not hold the set of human "values" (approved by the US, of course) are deemed to be “unfriendly” to the powers in the West especially the US.

The successful execution of the spacewalk will undoubtedly provide ample and vital information for the Chinese to proceed to conduct another expedition to dock two orbiters which are keys to constructing a space lab and ultimately, to build a space station.

China has announced that the time gap to launch the next two Shenzhou missions will be shorter and I would not be at all surprise if China will have a workable space station by 2018.

Congratulations to China and it goes to show that you do not need to be in an exclusive club controlled by the US, to further your space programs objectives.

China’s milk scandal has been blown out of proportion

By China Watcher

The serious repercussions of China’s tainted milk scandal is limited to mainland China and to a certain extent Hong Kong where there were two reported cases of infants suffering from kidney stones.

Western new agencies like AFP, Reuters, CNN, BBC and the likes have a field day reporting that the WORLD is distressed from the spillover over the lack of or poor administration of the food laws and safety guards in China. The governments in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines and Malaysia have announced a ban on Chinese dairy products.

What is most surprising is, Malaysia who has NEVER allowed any milk and dairy products from China (with an existing ban), has conveniently joined the bandwagon in announcing a ban (on top of another ban). Why ban when it is not even allowed in the first place? Isn’t this a case of over-reacting? I could truly understand if it happened in Singapore because of its “Kiasi or Kiasu” mentality or if translated means “scared to die” or “afraid to lose out”.

The trend to ban China’s milk and milk products has now reached 12 countries especially in Asia and Africa. So, it is not the whole WORLD which is involved but it is limited to certain Asian and African countries. Fortunately, China’s dairy products have not made it to the shores of the US and European countries, otherwise, you can bet the hue and cry from the Western media and its politicians are even more distasteful and ugly.

The people who suffered most from the failure of the China’s Food Quality and Inspection Unit to strictly monitor the dairy production industry are the Chinese people. These people will have my deepest sympathy. Almost 52,000 children have fallen ill and 4 infant fatalities were reported. More children falling sick are expected in the couple of weeks as warned by the Chinese authorities. It is quite normal for the numbers to increase as the tainted milk products is quite widespread and milk, both liquid and powdered, is a very important food for younger people. Chinese societies have today evolved into one which is dependent on cow’s milk compared to the situation 30 years ago, when most Chinese families relied on breastfeeding to feed their young as most of them are too poor to afford milk products.

Hans Troedsson, the China’s representative from the World Health Organization, puts it in the right perspective when he commented that China has a huge population of 1.3 billion people and the figures announced may be staggering but when compared to its population, even a million people affected is no big deal (only 0.07%). The WHO is now in China to discuss with the Chinese officials on how to strengthen the food monitoring and reporting systems.

Chinese investigators have placed the blame on raw milk suppliers, in the hope of making more profit, may have diluted their milk to increase the volume and then add melamine to artificially boost the protein content. If you analyze the life threatening effects of melamine, the victims consist of those who have consumed the contaminated product in large quantities over a prolong period of time like infants or kids who drink it almost daily.

I am not trying to justify the act of adding melamine in food products as the medium to long term harmful effects of the chemical are real but if you consume food that contains only a small portion of it as ingredient and that the food itself constitutes only a small percentage of the total amount of food ingested, it is actually not life threatening.

I personally believe that the pace of China’s economic development is way too fast for the authorities to effectively supervise. On an indirect basis, the Chinese cultural belief and philosophy “of getting rich is good” has led to the birth of unethical and selfish businessmen who will disregard social responsibility in their quest to become rich. Hence, the food safety mechanisms need to be continually revised to anticipate the actions of these groups of unscrupulous businessmen.

The entrepreneurial spirit of the Chinese is to achieve prosperity and wealth in the shortest time possible, and to use the most convenient and least costly path even to the extent of giving bribes, receiving kickbacks and cutting “corners” at the expense of quality. Since the opening up of China in the early 80s, China’s approving systems and structures are littered with corruption allegations of which the authorities have, time and again, mentioned their desire to bring it to an acceptable level. But do they have the political will to do so? Or if there is, are the provincial authorities supportive or working closely with the central government on the same matter? Or are the various Ministries working in tandem to wipe out or reduce this particular society’s menace?

I also have to praise the Chinese government for quickly accepting responsibilities for the worse food safety scare this century by forcing the Head of the Chinese quality watchdog to resign and the sacking of the top party official, the mayor and 4 officials from the north Chinese city of Shijiazhuang, where Sanlu is based, for deliberate delays or attempts to cover up the matter to the higher authorities. Additionally, the State media also reported that eighteen employees and milk collection owners have been arrested in connection with the case, including the sacked head of Sanlu Group, and dozens have been detained for questioning. Accepting responsibilities and the willingness to revamp the reporting mechanisms with prompt and accurate reports are good attributes of a people’s government promoting transparency.

I have no doubt that the Chinese authorities will be able to reform and devise a practical and effective food and safety monitoring and reporting mechanism to restore public confidence in the production of Chinese foods and to avoid a repetition of another food scandal at a time when the country can ill-afford.

To revive Chinese people confidence in Chinese food and foodstuff is crucial as it will ensure the survival of the local food industries in the country. China has a large population and the industry players cannot afford to loose this growing lucrative domestic market which will also help to ease the outflow of funds if foodstuffs are to be imported wholesale.

Exporting the goods is secondary as it may take a while before foreign parties and governments are willing to buy Chinese foodstuffs after the battered reputation from this tainted milk scandal.

The modern myth about China and its people

By China Watcher

A month ago, I chanced upon the conversations coming from an adjacent table concerning the Beijing Olympics and the ongoing economic developments in China. 5 out of 10 persons having their dinner at the table were Westerners. A petite lady with Chinese features told the Westerners confidently that China has come a long way since Mao’s Cultural Revolution in the 70s and there are lots of encouraging social developments in Chinese societies since then. She suggested a group trip to China for a holiday. One skeptical and hypocritical Westerner retorted loudly that she will only venture to the country if there are no more human rights violations, religious suppression, corruption and pollution.

I could not help but quietly laughed at the poor lack of knowledge and how misguided are the general Western perceptions about China and its people. Most of them only obtained their information from the narrow lens of the irresponsible Western media and the strong influential opinions of the neo-conservatives in their daily lives, both at the office and at home. China bashing has become a “favorite past-time” among the Western media in order to sell their journals, papers and periodicals to take advantage of the situation when its residents are still trying to grasp a foreign culture in which there are significant differences in language, customs and societal standards. This has somehow led to the birth and development of a western mainstream thinking that everything about China is “bad and evil”. At the extreme end, this continuous reinforced thinking eventually led to the formation of a closed mind on China and its people like the Westerner’s reactions which I have brought up in the above example.

I would say openly that the majority of the Westerners who initially formed a poor mental image of the country were taken aback by the strides of progress in Chinese societies and the modern architectural facade located in the coastal eastern cities, the moment they set foot in China. Most impressive of all from the accounts of their traveling diaries was the extent of the people’s hospitality and the modern facilities quite unlike what their earlier presumptions were. Four US cyclists of the US Olympics contingent had to apologize for wearing masks upon landing at the Chinese capital due largely to their ignorance caused by the many misinformed or exaggerated articles by the media back home. Pollution was another issue which was played up by the press. Is there a perception and reality gap over here? Obviously the answer is yes.

Do the Western people know that the Han Chinese in the rural areas can have a second child if the first is a girl? Do the Westerners also know that the Chinese minorities like the Tibetans and Uighurs are excluded under the one-child policy?

China practices “controlled religious freedom” even though the Communist rulers are atheists. The present Chinese government had significantly loosened its control on religious activities when compared with the situation 30 years ago. The Chinese government has also annually allocated funds to build new churches, temples, mosques and for maintenance of existing structures. Westerners need to know that there are sufficient places of worship for religious followers but due to the inert fear of religion being used politically, the central government want to have a say in the managing of the activities. I do believe if the Tibetans or Muslims are not outwardly political in their motives, there are certainly rooms for more flexibility in the preaching of one’s own belief. One good example is the Hui’s Muslims.

It is also clear that there are still gaps in the standard of religious freedom as interpreted by the West and the Chinese government. Given time when Chinese societies become more mature and knowledgeable with a sizeable middle class, the gaps could be narrowed with the demand for changes coming from its people. The West took more than 500 years to attain the current level of religious acceptance in their societies. Even in the present developed societies in US and Europe, I have heard of complaints from Muslims migrants who felt that their religious rights were being infringed when there are surveillance regulations enacted by the mainly Christian based governments and the presence of selective discriminations in the name of security which they had to endure in their adopted home country.

It is a known fact, that there is economic disparity between the coastal cities and the inner provinces as reflected in the widening income gap between the rich city dwellers and poor rural farmers. Economic reform is a continuous process and we do note some encouraging development inland where the villages are finally able to enjoy part of the success of China’s impressive economic growth over the past 20 years. Growth in the urban centers will take place first and then it will spread gradually to the smaller towns, counties, villages and communes. The literacy rate of China in the rural area is slowly improving and at least, I can boldly proclaim that the crime rate in still relatively low as against its population size of 1.35 billion.

China is known worldwide as a producer of cheap and low quality goods and all that will change in a matter of time if we take the economic model of Japan, South Korea or even Taiwan as a yardstick for the elevation of technological progress and development.

Though China's political system is still largely one-party rule, the economic system is undeniably capitalist with a high degree of government intervention similar to most Asian countries.

China is a huge, mysterious and complex country with a diverse population and it is important not to rely solely from third parties perspective but to view the country personally to gather information necessary to make a sound, fair and reasonable judgment

China must seriously prosecute those involved in tainted “gyoza” dumplings

By China Watcher

A senior Chinese investigator briefed Japanese officials, four days after the closure of the Olympic Games, that there is a strong possibility that the dumplings could have been tainted at the factory in Tianyang Food in Hubei, after four Chinese had fallen ill from eating the company’s dumplings.

I am of the view that if the outcome of the investigation is such that if the methamidophos, an organophosphorous pesticide, was intentionally mixed into the “gyoza” at the company's factory then the person or persons involved must be severely prosecuted.

In December 2007, 10 persons from Hyogo and Chiba prefectures in Japan, complained of diarrhea and vomiting after eating Tianyang Food's gyoza. The poisoning cases created a diplomatic spat between the governments of both countries which eventually led to massive investigations from both ends.

Four Chinese people in June 2008 fell ill after eating the dumplings products that Tianyang Food had recalled following the poisoning cases in Japan, indicating the controls were weak and that there are signs that the harmful chemicals were present before it is exported to Japan.

The Chinese investigators have re-opened investigations and begun questioning temporary workers at the food manufacturer including those who have left the company. Production records, attendance registers, security cameras footage and data on chemicals used at the factory, as well as antiseptics from the company were carted away by the authorities.

Some sources doubt that the Chinese authorities are not serious in pursuing the cases because of suspected involvement of persons linked to the Hubei provincial government. If this is the case, it is all the more important and essential that the central government should step in to provide assurance to the Chinese people that they are committed and serious in overcoming corrupted activities especially those involving people who are entrusted to govern at the provincial level and their related parties as well.

China, being a world’s manufacturer of electronics and now, a diversified processed food exporter must provide assurance to its global consumers that they intend to move up the production chain to produce high value added quality products by handling this high publicity case in an appropriate and convincing manner.

Quality production set-up (with no compromise on safety and health values) and stringent food controls are important pre-requites towards being a reliable world’s food producer.