Will You Be Trying to Boycott Chinese Products?

Hey All

With the diplomatic row between Aus and China over the last few weeks culminating in the tweets from the Chinese embassy, there’s been an obvious rising of tensions between the countries.

Given how ridiculous and ironic china’s position is, to have the gall to call out Australia for human rights abuses do you feel more strongly about trying to avoid products manufactured in China?

The report itself was Australia holding itself to account, it could have easily been covered up never to see the light of day but Australia relative to the rest of the world is one with more integrity than that.

I don’t see how China could ever lecture a country like Australia when it comes to war crimes/human rights abuse given their long track record, most notably the persecution of the Uighur population as well numerous other violations ranging from censorship to imprisonment/torture of dissidents. I don’t see China holding itself to account for those crimes anytime soon.

I like the idea in theory of boycotting Chinese made products but the reality is unfortunately from my perspective is that the supply chain is far too integrated in China to be able to boycott anything. Hopefully western businesses are more incentivised now to move their supply chains away from China but that will a long and slow process over many years possibly decades.

So TLDR will you be trying to avoid Chinese made products or are we in a situation that these products are so pervasive with our current lifestyles there’s nothing we can really do at the moment.

Edit: Poll added. Good suggestion.

Poll Options

  • 839
    Yes I will and do avoid Chinese made products wherever I can
  • 34
    Yes but only if the equivalent product is the same price and quality
  • 333
    Would like to avoid but can’t because of limited choice/availability/price
  • 239
    Don’t care whatever’s cheapest
  • 133
    Don’t care at all and would still buy Chinese made even if there was a choice of equivalent produc

Comments

                          • @petry: No, I mean that if you hate somewhere, you should go to somewhere you don't hate. You'll be much happier.

                            What other country is going to give you money for nothing?

                            • @brendanm: says you and why you don't you just leave me alone and stop badgering me on a daily basis?

                              how is this on -topic ?

                              • @petry: Don't come to a discussion forum if you don't like discussion? How is anything you post on topic? So many great questions.

                                I'd still live to know what robodeath is? Did scomo build killer robots?

                                • -2

                                  @brendanm: So now you are pretending i'm on welfare as well lol - where did that come from?

                                  And such mockery and you and the mods reckon this is ontopic and not personal attacks?

                • @brendanm: Don’t bother with petry anymore. Judging buy the past posts and comment history of this account it’s a text book 50 cent army account.
                  So who knows the owner of this account actually lives in Australia.

                  • @maxyzee: strange site thinks i do.

                    As for you both who knows if either of you or both live here, are ozzie or are 77th??

                    there are published rules about personal attacks here but cuz I'm an aussie apparently I'm unprotected….

                    • @petry: Well there’s a thing called a VPN.

                      Yes I very much live in Australia and very grateful that I live in Australia. BTW I was actually born in China and emigrated here as a child.

                      I’m not sure what you mean by cuz I'm an aussie apparently I'm unprotected…. wouldn’t that be you are protected?

                      This is going to be a very interesting challenge for the mods on the one hand handling disinformation and inflammatory remarks but still allowing for free speech and discourse amongst it all unhelpful remarks from what they need to determine real accounts.

                      • @maxyzee: Really? you claim to be from china and clearly you despise your own country so what makes any of your assertions true?

                        You just make up i'm using a vpn for your own purposes , so its pretty clear the sort of person typing away telling everyone to ignore me and just listen to you - great agenda….

                        • +3

                          @petry: I do not view China as my country. Australia is my country, it’s the place I grew up was educated, employed etc. And definitely I experienced the racism, bigotry etc. while growing up but this place is still my home and always will be.

                          I have family that are still stuck in China and have no way to get out and extended family that are currently in the internment camps. So yes I do have an agenda.

                          I did not explicitly state you were using a VPN but speculated whether this petry account belong to an actual person that uses this account actually lives here in Aus. Judging by the past comments it does not seem to be a typical Australian viewpoint right leaning or left leaning. Very much against the west in all aspects and very pro CCP.

                          • -3

                            @maxyzee: Ok then so you're likely an intelligence agent using this forum to spread anti chinese views, maybe because you're paid to, falun gong or an isis sympathiser - who knows…

                            you continue to make stuff up about me because thats your style and you're happy to do it for whatever reason that applies - you are not alone on this site doing the same things day in day out…

                            you clearly are very unhappy about dissenting views so you're not really very democratic

                            • @petry: Really? You want to speculate that I’m being paid by these groups. Is there evidence of this occurring on such a mass scale being run by these groups extending through to Ozbargain.

                              Maybe this petry account is a real account belonging to a real person here in Australia but from what we’ve been seeing not the the typical viewpoints expressed by an Australian.

                              The 50 cent army extends beyond just the individuals getting paid it’s expanded to the very patriotic netizen to defend the CCP and are actually doing it behalf of themselves. Unfortunately this will just defend totalling to somebody of that mindset if this what is true. I just you mind opens in the future and be open to discussion honest conversation about precarious topics

                              • @maxyzee: 'from what we’ve been seeing'

                                Royal 'we' or your section or unit?

                                As for the '50 cent army extends beyond just the individuals getting paid it’s expanded to the very patriotic netizen to defend the CCP ' is pure 77th sloganing.

                                i follow facts mate and anyone leading with instructions to others telling em to ignore them, that they're foreign and other such garbage has a seriously bad mindset at best.

                                • @petry: Where am I? Facebook? Twitter?

                                • @petry: Ok from what I’ve seen. You make quick assertions and inflammatory remarks without preceding with explanatory statements or rational behind that remark so yeah that’s what a 50 cent commenter does.

                                  So leading with instructions to ignore foreign ideas is a bad mindset is what you’re saying. Ok. Well there’s a place where half the internet is censored and dissident ideas are silenced punished I’m you would agree that is a bad mindset.

                                  • @maxyzee: @maxyzee: 'from what we’ve been seeing'

                                    Royal 'we' or your section or unit? your group didn't answer….

                                    just dished out more digs at me as usual…

                                    I'll stick to quoting facts

                                    • @petry: Just wondering what are these facts?

                                      • -1

                                        @maxyzee: well one of them is your group likes to ask questions but refuses to answer them..

                                        '@maxyzee: 'from what we’ve been seeing'

                                        Royal 'we' or your section or unit? your group didn't answer….'

                                        • @petry: Ok answer: my unit. From what I’ve seen. I made an assumption of we a because anyone that has a reasonable mindset would come to the same conclusion so that’s my bad. If that’s what you’re after.

                                          Any other questions not answered?

                                          • @maxyzee: syntax changed again - so whats your unit?

                                            • @petry: My unit is me as in one person.

                                              Any other questions?

          • @petry: Up to 15.50 renminbi now.

  • +5

    They won't even bother laughing at an Australian boycott of Chinese products our share of their exports is so miniscule.

    Go for your life if it makes you feel patriotic or something. But don't think you are impacting them in anyway.

    Even if every Australian participated, the Chinese would barely notice, we are THAT insignificant of a market.

    • +3

      Also Australia is at trade surplus in this relationship. I had a good laugh when I read some of the posts saying we should stop decouple with China, this will only hurt Australia more.

    • +2

      It's not so that China notices, it's so Australian stores notice and stop buying Chinese.

    • It won’t impact them but will make companies here manufacture elsewhere if enough do it.
      Eg, Everyone stops buying Bonds undies because they are Chinese made, then they will make them somewhere else.

        • will make companies here manufacture elsewhere

        what is the befit for us ? i would support 100% made in Australia, if outside Australia does it matter ?

  • So TLDR will you be trying to avoid Chinese made products or are we in a situation that these products are so pervasive with our current lifestyles there’s nothing we can really do at the moment.

    This is childish and not any different from CCP violating the FTA.
    Time shine your brilliance what can be done with the extra barrels of wine instead of wasting time retaliating. Show the dogmeateaters you can survive even if they refuse to buy your wine, this will effectively turn their bullying tactic into non-existence. They can bugger off and not taste our beautiful wines.

  • Why can't we instead impose massive tariffs on any exports from Chinese owned business from Australia to China?

    • We can, but won't do too much as we are at trade surplus with them.

    • +2

      Australia population 30 000 000
      China population 1 393 000 000
      OHH yeah baby we are going to give them a flogging in a trade war

      Have you forgot the liberal nationals have sold them water, runways, ports, farms, businesses, islands, housing, mines, land they even have one in their team with money under the table Gladys Liu ring any bells?

  • +2

    If Australia really wants to fight back then we should increase the price of Iron Ore with a duty or if possible withold selling Iron Ore to China and see who blinks first.

    • slow down shipments, prioritise others.
      The ore is in the mail…

    • Let me guess, the miners?

      • Then raise the iron ore prices! Make them pay top dollar!

        • +3

          Not only Australia is selling iron. Such as Brazil is selling iron as well.

          • @sy8718: Brazillian iron ore supply is currently constrained due to Covid and mine disasters over there. Due to the quality and efficiency of Australian mines making steel with Australian iron ore is cheaper than with Brazillian or even Chinese locally produced iron ore. Cutting Australian iron ore from the Chinese supply chain will give other countries that do use Aussie iron ore a big cost advantage. The only hope the Chinese have for cutting Australia from the steel supply chain is with African mines. These are still in development with years to go before they start producing in meaningful quantities. Some of the bigger African mines also happen to be owned by BHP which is an Australian company.

            • @Blargman2001: This is just an example. What I mean is there is a market value and it is not that easy for seller just increases the price. For example you love Samsung and you think it is better than other Andriod mobiles, and the current price is what you think worth to buy. Then one day Samsung just increased price to triple and will you still buy? As long as there is alternatives in the market, then you have to have a reasonable price to sell your product. This applies to Australian iron as well.

            • @Blargman2001: 'A 2011 report estimated 83% of mine production in Australia was attributable to foreign owners, including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. Although many think of these as Australian companies, BHP is 76% foreign owned, and Rio Tinto is 83%. Between them they constitute 70% of listed mining company resources. This level of foreign ownership means ‘…BHP under our laws is a foreign corporation, as is Rio Tinto’.1 A 2016 Treasury paper on Foreign Investment in Australia stated that less than 10% of mining projects currently underway is solely owned by Australian owned companies, while over 90% have some level of foreign ownership. The paper states that foreign investment accounts for 86% share of ownership of major mining projects, including 26% from the US and 27% from the UK.2'

              back to the fox news desk….

  • +4

    I don’t understand this. Our pony tail is in the hand of Chinese, and we don’t have any plan to get it off of them. If China stops importing raw materials from us what do we do? We don’t have a Silicon Valley or the Crude oil Currency. Tourism is gone. And, yet we keep kindling the only buyer we have. What’s the point? It all started with the Corona thing. We should have kept our mouth shut while working on other markets. Then we could have flipped them the bird.
    Now, I am afraid we are going to see a massive economy disaster. Stupid politicians. I bet if US opens their borders, half of the Australians will apply for E3.

    • Hypothetically there's always a move to clean energy as we have a great climate environment and the potential to be a leader in that field. With our current government that is unlikely though.

  • +3

    While it would be nice to change spending habits to at least try to send a message to the CCP, I am under no illusion that a handful of Australians doing that will have absolutely no impact at all.

    Still, it's worth a try. Avoiding products made in China is often very difficult, but if you look through a store like Bunnings you can often find alternative products made in Taiwan. It's worthwhile supporting this modern democratic country, and as an added bonus it's impossible to be accused of racism when preferring Taiwanese over Chinese products. 95% of Taiwan's population is Han Chinese.

  • +5

    Given how ridiculous and ironic china’s position is, to have the gall to call out Australia for human rights abuses

    I find it more ironic that Australia has been "fighting" for human rights alongside America for decades and then it turns out we do the same atrocities as the countries we go around criticising

    Why are you more concerned about China, look in your own backyard

  • -8

    I think you should be ashamed of your illiterate self for being so gullible in believing all the minion-Morrison propaganda, and attempting to bully the rest of us in following your misguided and limited mentality ways.

    • +1

      Are you being sarcastic? Honestly can’t tell if this is an actual serious comment or not.

      • +1

        Chairman OzHunterNSW is never sarcastic…

  • +1

    If the minimum pay drops to $5 per hour, you may be able to achieve that. Have to say such a high minimum pay makes Australian industries toooo weak/.

  • +2

    I actually look for xiaomi products. They are excellent quality at excellent prices. I have a phone, watch, percussion massager, water flosser and shoes amongst other items I'm sure. I'd rather buy Australian made for sure but I doubt that's going to ever be an option for electronics, and definitely not at a similar price point.

  • Too much of a tendency to think about this (and so many issues) in all-or-nothing terms, and therefore do nothing.

    I just consciously do my small part in "spreading the love" and promoting more balance in which countries I depend on. If I paid zero attention, I'd have very pro-China/pro-CCP spending habits by default.

    I say that as someone who doesn't care much about the tweet that's sparked the latest row. It's pretty low on the scale of things that really bother me about the CCP. The idea of some sort of boycott campaign driven by a feeling of offense to national pride doesn't sit well with me.

  • +2

    Some food companies faced a similar issue when Country of Origin reporting came into existence. They started setting up companies in favourable countries to route products/ingredients which were coming originally from unfavorable sources. Long story short if an Aussie business is desperate enough they will find a way to re-route their stuff through another place.

    Otherwise for Chinese people I guess it's their loss because Aussie has one of the finest quality products in the world (and they know it) because majority of us are honest hard-working people, take our work seriously and believe in dignity of work regardless of the profession/occupation.

  • +1

    Will You Be Trying to Boycott Chinese Products This Christmas?

    Of course…

  • +5

    On the contrary! I want a Lijian Zhao bobble-head that spouts frothy abuse at me for my car.

  • +1

    This will be a good lesson to Australia to learn to diversify their trading partners and not put all their eggs into one basket.

  • +1

    I dont think anybody can boycott China really. In order to do that you will need to trace all your purchases back to chinese origins. For example a product could be made outside of china, but often that means "manufacturing and assembly of the end product" labelling does not require you to disclose all the underlying components and where they are made and most of that would likely be made in china.

    The age old problem which has plagued humankind for centuries. Politics is politics, let the dirty politicians deal with it, not our problem to solve or do anything.
    None of the manufacturers in china have a say in what the chinese government does, so does that warrant them to be punished?
    Vice versa, the Australian's don't get a say in what our politicians do, therefore should we also punish our own people?

    One thing is: Money is King, so buy what you want to buy, as that is all that matters in consumerism.

  • +2

    sorry but no. Too much headache. Just by cheap stuff or things on sale.

  • +2

    Never going to buy any Chinese manufactured goods for the foreseeable future.

    China is attempting to ruin Australia's economy , why support that behaviour?

    That along with the typical Chinese tourists poor behaviour i have no time for them.

    They gave the world the covid pandemic & tried to hide it for as long as possible, & now they want to punish Australia for seeking the truth!

    A family member was considering to buy an MG vehicle…not any more.

    • It sounds like the broken records of people on Ozbargain saying they will boycott Hardly Normal when they don't honor a pricing error.
      But then another one pops up or they offer an actual bargain and those people buy it anyways. haha……

  • +6

    I don’t see how China could ever lecture a country like Australia when it comes to war crimes/human rights abuse given their long track record, most notably the persecution of the Uighur population as well numerous other violations ranging from censorship to imprisonment/torture of dissidents. I don’t see China holding itself to account for those crimes anytime soon.

    Bit rich to be honest.

    While I dont condone the Uighur situation in China. I was very disappointed when the Uighur thing started coming to the limelight both in the media and politically, not because I feel like it didnt deserve to be there, but only because it stunk if hypocrisy pedalled by our Journalists and Politicians.

    After 911 our government and media supported lies that resulted in a never ending war - Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Libya etc. The death count from that would literally be 1 million people (civilians and soldiers alike). Your local abattoir couldn't butcher those kinds of numbers, we have completely out done ourselves - over 1 million dead humans its a solid effort. Yet these wars are still going and its just brushed under the rug with not a second thought.

    I can't control any of it, but what I can control is not being a hypocrit. So we are just as bad as China and vice versa and I'm not going to sit there propagating how evil they are when we stink as bad.

    • +2

      It really comes down to this:

      Communism vs Capitalism

  • +1

    I won’t be boycotting the purchase of products made in China.

  • +4

    No, I vote with my wallet for what i need regardless in which country the goods were made.
    Australians need to be aware when you start to lecture China about war crimes and human rights abuse that China did it to their own citizens and Australia did it in other country. I'll let you be the judge.

    • -1

      Dont forget Manus & Christmas Island concentration camps detention centres.

    • +1

      Agreed. So many hypocrites here but not surprising.

    • Yeah.
      Because…
      The cultural revolution which killed ~100 million people, or maybe putting 1 million people in a prison camp, or maybe mass spying on your population, or ignoring international treaties.

      Is the same as….
      Starting stuff with Timor or Aboriginals.

      What a load of bullocks, get real.

  • +1

    Me love you long time

  • +5

    Australia has the population of a Chinese city… Even if the whole of Australia never buys a single Chinese product ever again, the Chinese suppliers and economy would barely notice.

  • +11

    Wars are now fight in the Media. Media controls public opinions, all politicians cares are their own gain by staying in power. Scotty M and Donald Trump are two perfect examples. Same goes in China.

    To understand the world we are set in today we need to go back at least 100 year when the British bought Opium into China, killed their economy, took many treasures back to Britain which are still displayed at the Museum in Britain today, when the world sees China is a such an easy target, many countries sent ships and soldiers into China to Loot, followed by the invasion of 8 countries into China's and took land and gold and silver (billions of billions in todays value). Basically China has always been a very weak country until recently.

    Interestingly not many people knows about this. Yet there is always the mention of China's invasion of Tibet, the Tiananmen square. You hardly ever hear anything media mentions about the invasion of China 100 years ago. The invasion of Tibet happened around 50 years ago. So there is no real reason why the media cant mention what has happened 100 years ago.

    By the way Japan maybe is a totally different country now but 60 - 70 years ago Japanese was allied with the German SS. Yet China cops so much more hate than the Japanese.

    By the way, where was the compensations from the USA and its allies (Australia included), for the invasion of Iraq based on false information CIA provided to the world with Iraq's Weapons of mass destructions? I guess its ok as they only killed a few hundred thousands civilian. Small price to pay for the oil they are getting I suppose.

    It really comes down to this:

    Communism vs Capitalism

    As long as China is Communist, it will cops a lot of heat regardless what it does.

    With the current situation I think Australia Media is the ones to blame (same goes with Chinese Media), also the public seems to treat the similar event very different when it comes to their own:

    When Chinese swimmers use performance drugs, public says they as CHEATERS!
    When Australia swimmer use performance drugs, public says they MADE A MISTAKE!
    When Chinese soldiers kills the ethnic in the Tibet area, public sees them as MURDERS!
    When Australia soldiers kills local afghan civilian, the public says they are just DEFENDERS!

    How ridiculous. A cheater is a cheater and a killer is a killer. There is nothing different about them no matter how the media twist their words.

    At the moment, both Australia and China are acting like two 3 year old. They should get their sh*ts together and sit down and have a good talk. And ultimately, the only benefitor out of the Australia and China spat is the US, Biden already flagged they will try to get relationships back with China, they are looking to sell their barley, wine, beef to China to fill the gaps Australia left behind.

    All those people who are calling to not selling iron ore to China, well good luck with that, without the loyalty from iron ore many, I mean many of us will be on the street. Thats a topic for another matter………………

    Finally: I don't remember any countries asking for compensation from the USA for the Swine Flu epidemic

    中国有一句古话:鹬蚌相争,渔翁得利,现在中澳就是鹬蚌,美国就是渔翁!

    • "Finally: I don't remember any countries asking for compensation from the USA for the Swine Flu epidemic"

      Didn't that originate in Mexico?

      • +3

        The US was blaming the Mexico at first due to the poor Mexico population at the time as Mexico is a very poor country with very sub-standard living conditions and poor health safety regulations. Then, when the US cant blame it no more, they finally admitted it. I was under the same impression it came from the Mexico at first reading the news. but its not even remotely true. Same goes with the Weapon of mass destruction in Iraq. Which many years later US admitted they fabricated the whole thing in order to justify the invasion.

        https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/03/20/1…

        Not one country in the West asked for compensation from the US to the people in Iraq. Not the British, not Australia.

        https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/2009-h1n1-pandemi…

        In the spring of 2009, a novel influenza A (H1N1) virus emerged. It was detected first in the United States and spread quickly across the United States and the world. This new H1N1 virus contained a unique combination of influenza genes not previously identified in animals or people. This virus was designated as influenza A (H1N1)pdm09 virus. Ten years later work continues to better understand influenza, prevent disease, and prepare for the next pandemic.

        • +1

          Where do you believe the index case was, if not La Gloria, Veracruz, Mexico?

          • @[Deactivated]: There was no detection in Mexico, and it didnt spread in Mexico, it spread in the USA. It can however come from Mexico and be bought to the USA.

            Much like what is happening now in China. Wuhan which can be bought from any country. In fact there was an article that Italy had Covid-19 detected back in September 2019, way before the outbreak happened in Wuhan which happened in November 2019.

            Much like the most damaging article about the girl who ate bats in China, which later turned to be untrue as well. But the West made it a headline. And when the correction happened, many news article had it hidden in a small section and some even didnt publish the article at all. But the damage was done and many people in the world now believe it comes from bats eaten by the Chinese.

            https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy-…

            China will now be labelled the origin of covid-19, US will be labelled the origin of Swine Flu. Regardless of where both coming from originally.

            You can see the same issues here, when a new epidemic comes around, all the government are blaming the others. Doesn't matter if its from China or USA.

            Only when we go back in time would we know the truth I suppose.

            • @Aerith-Waifu: Do you have details of an earlier case than Edgar Hernandez?

              • @[Deactivated]: Wasn't he is labelled patient zero by memory? (still debatable)

                • @Aerith-Waifu: He is believed to be the index case, yes. I can't really find any alternative confirming your belief.

                  • +1

                    @[Deactivated]: All governments are bastard. That batgirl copped so much abuse in China in Chinese Social Media, she has to shut down her account when the imagine was first released, which turned to be a false story after.

                    Looking forward to the invention of time machine. Did Hitler really die? What happened to that Malaysia Plane which disappeared? etc etc

      • Try Spanish Flu: https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/1918-flu-pandemic

        the United States, where the first known case was reported at Camp Funston in Fort Riley, Kansas, on March 11, 1918. Some believe infected soldiers spread the disease to other military camps across the country, then brought it overseas. In March 1918, 84,000 American soldiers headed across the Atlantic and were followed by 118,000 more the following month.

    • +5

      So you asserting that China is being unfairly maligned because it's communist and not because of the human rights abuses it perpetrated to its people or it's diplomatic bullying of other countries and there is an equivalence between communism and capitalism?
      1. You mention that Japan does not cop as much heat now for what it did during WW2. Well that would be because it would have reformed into are democratic state over the decades under US occupation, and although they don't view their past with same amount of shame as what the Germans currently do but as you said yourself Japan is very much a different country than what it used to be so obviously they’re not copping heat and neither is Germany.

      1. Some history, you mention the opium wars that lead to the armistice of relenting Hongkong for 100 years. Well over those years Hongkong developed into the paramount trade hub across the Asian region and its people lived relatively free from authoritarian rule and since the 1997 hand back of Hongkong from British rule those freedoms have now been eroded away. But hey those protestors are just anarchists and looters that need to be dealt with right?
        Also, I'm sure you're aware of the collectivist farming policies Mao implemented in his first reign as the chairman and created the most devastating man made famine in history, even surpassing Starlin's famine in terms the scale of death it caused, and then the cultural revolution he implemented in the 60s that encouraged the killing of dissidents and anyone even hinting at new ideas. I remember a story my mother told me, when Mao died the next day every citizen had to show mourning and dress in the Mao grey suit, my mum was in middle school at the time and she couldn't find a grey suit to wear so thought a beige suite would be fine instead. Well as soon as she arrived from school she was chased out by the teachers, she had to run home as fast as she could and not go back to that school. Luckily the cultural revolution simmered down by that time so there wasn't too much blow back on the family, otherwise I wouldn't be here to talk about it.

      2. Just thinking of the current and past communist countries, I can't think of one where I would consider to be a good place to live. I wonder how many West Germans were trying to escape into the East, or South Koreans defecting to the North ;) Sorta shows what kind of society and rulers it creates don’t you think?

      3. The H1N1 swine flu pandemic did not cause mass shutdowns of economies nor was it anywhere near as deadly strain of flu as what SARS-2 causing COVID-19 is.

      • +5

        1: China has come a long way since the culture revolutions. If you are looking at the response China has did since they have identified the issue, they locked down millions in their home in order to stop the spread of covid19, the Western nations has at least 8 weeks warning regarding this virus, but the leaders of the western world was laughing at the time especially the US where you have Donald Trump not doing a damn thing about the social distancing and people just followed. What Trump is doing is not much different back what Mao or Starlin did, its always the ordinary people who are suffering. Hong Kong has made great growth in terms of GDP but so are the other Chinese Cities like Shanghai and Beijing. Another perfect example is Australia Government is calling Chinese crack down in HK protector total brutality, they failed to address the even more brutal handling of the USA police force during the USA protests. Oh thats why, when it comes down to OUR ALLIES doing the wrong thing lets just turn an blind eye. All is blue sky after.

        2: I lived in Shanghai, ShenZheng and GuangZhou and I would definitely consider those places to be great place to live if you like the big cities. Perth is better as I am getting older so I prefer somewhere quieter. Perth is my home. What I don't want to see is typical Chinese hate towards people of Asian origins, I honestly don't want my children be the subject of torments. My friend from Malaysian is already thinking of moving back to Malaysian as the number of racist comments he gets is getting the better of him just because he is dark skinned (Malaysian-Indian) https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/579501

        3: So if Covid19 doesn't cause mass shutdown all these Chinese hate will disappear? No it wont. Western Nationals are afraid of the landscape of the future that's why its been targeted far worse when you compares what other did.

        If you look at how the US treat their black population, or some European country treats their Muslim population, also the lost generation in Australia. They are not much different to how the China is treating other minority.

        You honestly cant pick a lesser evil even if you tried.

        • +4
          1. Yeah the US has stuffed the COVID response but we're not in the US are we. We're in Australia where there's been zero community except for SA for the last however many weeks. Also comparing incompetance resulting 260,000 deaths as apposed to mass starvation resulting something in the region of 20-80 million deaths conservative estimates doesn't really compute. Also I don't remember the Australian government in particular having anything to say about the BLM protests other than Americans have the fundamental right to protest and the Australian media showing how brutal the police response was ala Lafayette Square in DC but at least for the ones that occurred in AUS (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide etc.) it was allowed! And for myself I fully support the protest of police brutality. Come to think of it there was a protest at least sort of protest in mainland China for Dr Li Wenliang and I wonder what for.

          2. Yes it's unfortunate that there are pockets of racism that still exist in this country and I myself was targeted during my schooling years but I'm the type of person that it doesn't really affect and hell I even made friends with those kids during the later years of school. It's definitely something that Australia needs to keep working on but it's definitely better than what it use to be. Also I wonder how great it would be to live in a city like Guangzhou if you were of African descent https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/25/corona…
            Also you mention that you're in Perth, did you know up to one third of WA citizens have expressed sentiment for WA to be a separate nation state I wonder how those sort of sentiments would be handled in China?

          3. If there was an earlier lock down of Wuhan it could have been contained within Wuhan itself and not spread outward in the first place and then to try and actively cover up any mistakes wouldn't be looked on rather favourable by anyone would it.

          • +4

            @maxyzee: 1: Dr Li Wenliang was silenced by the local official, these guys are the most corrupted. However once it was known they are dealing with something different. I think the Chinese Government made a very gusty call to lock the country down for 3 months. We talking about billion people, not a nation of 25millions. Had the western nation taken it seriously back then, we would also not be in the position we are in today, imagine China locks down, rest of the world locks down. 6 months tops and this should be in the pass. But no, western nations politicians especially in Europe and USA are so scared of the popular votes, they decided to keep the country open long after China has locked down their cities. Having said that the officials in Wuhan should have done better.

            2: Yeah I know about the racism toward Africans, terrible and that proves there are lots of racism everywhere. Do you know what's the reason behind the hatred towards African in general over there? It also started with a few, I was there in GZ and I personally witness the robbery of a mid aged Chinese Woman by a black man. Then the Media gotten control of the story and it runs like wildfire after. Again, media is to blame.

            3: Western Nations had 2 months, if they did something better like lock the borders down. We be out of this by now. How do you think Vietnam and South Korea did it? They locked down immediately and now they are gotten it under control.

            • @Aerith-Waifu: Is CCP says everyone must lock down, people lock down, knowing the harsh consequences. You don't complain.

              In Australia, people complained about their rights and freedom being violated even for a week lockdown.

            • +3

              @Aerith-Waifu:

              1. So Dr Li Wenliang was silenced by the local official, these guys are the most corrupted. What does that tell you about the system in which these offcials operated and what it breeds? Yes China is the only country in the world can perform such a lock down of that scale, because
                a. They have the resouces to pull off something of that scale
                b. Most importantly the citizens know exactly what the consequences are if they do not follow government directive

              2. Hmm so the citizens themselves believed exactly what they read on the media and didn't question it. I wonder then were there any advocacy groups to stand up to those African citizens and challenge what the media had stated? I know there definitely was in a country like Aus especially in Melbourne in 2018 so were there NGOs operating inside China petitioning for the rights of those Citizens? BTW you didn't really answer the questions on this point.

              3. And Australia doesn't have the pandemic under control? Yes other countries are still struggling to get it under control but it's something they've never experienced before unlike the countries you've mentioned that had to deal with like SARS-1 and Bird Flu.

              Sorry I missed your last point in the previous post.
              Do you really think there is no lesser of 2 evils, both are the same? If you look at how the US treat their black population, or some European country treats their Muslim population, also the lost generation in Australia. They are not much different to how the China is treating other minority.
              I don't see mass internment camps housing the indigenous population, hell the Prime Minister gave an apology in 2008 for those atrocities committed in the past and there are programs actively looking at reconciliation, still no easy answer moving forward but the acknowledgment is there. And yes there is some discrimination against minority groups in various western nations but within those nations it is denounced and they look to progress. Just out of curiosity does China allow for same sex marriage? How progressed is China compared to Australia?

            • @Aerith-Waifu: Vietnam and South Korea have long history with China so they know what they should expect from the bad neighbour. Never trust what China say, just observe what China do. They can bully some country and act like a victim at the same time. They lend the money but actually put a country into a debt trap and slowly take over that country. China is a fking decease, and if you think it is because of communist you are naïve. That behaviours are in their blood for a thousand years.

          • +1

            @maxyzee: And you still failed to answer one important question, people on low income will not be able to afford stuffs made locally, what do they do if there is no cheap goods are coming in?

            And I bet you even though many says they will avoid chinese made here by voting, the min they see a bargain they will not think twice about where its been made.

            • @Aerith-Waifu: Yeah exactly unfortunatley cost is the main driving factor of purchasing.

              So as I mentioned I would like to see the gradual shifting of supply lines away from China, this something that will take many years possibly decades. This has started already back in 2018 when the first the Trump tarrif's were introduced but now there's been more thought put into it because of COVID-19.

              Australian businesses now seem to finally have started waking up and thinking maybe putting all their eggs in one basket isn't a good idea and have started to look and see how can supply lines be shifted away.

              • @maxyzee: Also there should be the encouragement of businesses to start shifting and incentivising local resources and at the very least non-china resources to manufacture or provide service. This can be done through policy but would require quite the amount political will and thinking through of said policies.

                One Biden's first order's of business when taking over office is his 'Made in America' program. It would be interesting to see if this does bring back manufacturing back into the US.

    • You show you know very little of Australian character.

      When Australia swimmer use performance drugs, public says they MADE A MISTAKE!

      Wrong! Most Australian sports fans are annoyed and disgusted by such behaviour. Media usually destroys them. Cheating sports people in Australia ruin their careers, and usually their futures too. When Chinese are caught cheating, they simply deny it and are backed by their government and media.

      When Australia soldiers kills local afghan civilian, the public says they are just DEFENDERS!

      Wrong again. Who makes excuses for this type of thing??? Or maybe you're reading too much Murdoch rubbish.

      And no, I'm NOT a rabid anti-communist. True communism would probably make for an ideal world, and the American fear of communism that is taught in schools and passed down from generation to generation has allowed the mess we see there today. Unfortunately communism just doesn't work in a self-centred and power-hungry world…

  • +4

    All we need to do is just go meet the Dalai Lama and then spend some time in Taiwan . That will p!$$ off the CCP immensely.

  • how are we suppose to boycott when china owns not only us but the rest of the world?

  • No avoiding. No boycotting.

    If I have to wait two to three weeks for a product which would have cost more elsewhere, so be it.

  • +5

    Just a feature request on Ozbargain - display the product origin of the bargain.

  • +1

    I don’t see how China could ever lecture a country like Australia

    Replace China and Australia with any country, that is what they call sovereignty. Leaders of a country can say whatever they like (including lies) to get popular support from their citizens (other countries include Poland, Hungary, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina and Russia etc).

    It is just all politics. You think the Australian government wasn't treading fine line between supporting America and making a living off the Chinese. Just so happens they miscalculated.

    If China wanted to hit Australia it is pretty easy, ban all exports of Chinese goods and import of Australian Iron Ore but that would just China shooting itself in the foot.

    We can debate it but there is serious games being played at the big boys table.

    If you wonder where China is going. Just look at how China tries to claim the South China Sea with some old historical map. If you look into Chinese history at that same time the surrounding countries like Korea, Vietnam etc were tributary states so China is trying to set the same thing up right now. Just like Soviet Union had the CIS.

    To counter wolf warrior diplomacy in China, Australia should have done Squirrel diplomacy, sock away all the money because as you might already know China doesn't like outsiders taking away their money for long. China doesn't want outsiders to succeed that is why it enforces joint ventures and technology transfers.

  • Need a new poll choice "Not if it's a bargain"

  • +1

    Check where your candy canes and gingerbread houses are made folks… Woolworths branded candy is mostly made in China. Which amazes me as like for like there is no shortage of Australian companies who produce the same thing.

  • +4

    We have relied on Chinese money to fund our extensive welfare system for far too long already. Best to start by cutting our enormous welfare budgets to save costs. Also reduce our personal income taxes to incentivise working and not have the free loaders leaching off hardworking Australians by relying on Jobseeker. Too many citizens on the dole despite fruits going to waste for want of fruitpickers (because they are too lazy to pick fruits despite being unemployed and need third world countries citizens to do the job for us, really??) are the reason why China has a financial leverage over us.

  • +3

    I don’t see how China could ever lecture a country like Australia when it comes to war crimes/human rights abuse given their long track record

    Well what about Australia defending abroad newspaper's comments on islam, religion, etc saying it is freedom of speech? IMO this is just the same thing - freedom of speech…or is it only freedom of speech as long as it isn't against Australia?

    • +1

      Yeah they are totally free to say what they want, but to do it in such an offensive way and then expect Australia just to not say anything back is a bit rich, considering they have far worse human rights transgressions. Yeah they can still call Australia out but there's quite the irony there.

      It's like a reforming drug addict that is part of a support group had relapse and during the group session admits it and says he'll try and stop next time while the biggest addict in that group that has a far worse habbit and is still in denial about it shames that person for having the relapse.

      • Youre saying it is ironic that china are mKing comments on human rights…
        But it is also ironic that australia supports freedom of speech but then is against this.

        Would have been much more aussie to just say fk it move on…

  • +1

    I was under the impression that the recent Chinese aggression towards multiple countries was to actually calm the raising unrest within China. I reckon all of this imposing of tariffs and general rhetoric will die down pretty soon.

  • +2

    I avoid Chinese made products where I can.

    Not for political reasons, mostly just because it's cheap junk.

    Although some things are so cheap that it's worth the risk, will still buy them.

  • +5

    I avoid China made products whenever I can. Pretty tough when you're in Bunnings, where 90% of all the crap there has the CCP taint on it.

    Kinda hard also when I see products hailing from Vietnam, where I suspect China might have set up factories there too, to circumvent US economic measures against them. Happy to be corrected here.

    Made in Taiwan, Made in Australia, Made in USA, Made in Japan are all kosher in my book.

    We should be united and sanctioning the crap out of China, instead increasing our reliance on them over the past 30-40 years or so. Pure greed and short-sightedness has brought us to this point.

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