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To: neverdem

There is no time to lose. We have to send more factories to China.


8 posted on 11/25/2005 11:14:44 PM PST by marron
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To: marron
Yes! The Chinese will be the great predictors of our environment! (sarcasm).

I was eating in a restaurant at the Hebei Guest House, Shijiazhuang City, China (3 hours by train south of Beijing), and I was chatting with an Italian who was there inspecting and servicing environmental protection equipment in factories.

"Chinese factories have environmental protection equipment?" I asked.
"Certainly! They have to install it as part of their agreements to get World Bank loans for development" was the Italian's reply.
I went on, "It must be tough to keep it all serviced in this filthy environment."
"Not at all," he answered, "The equipment is as clean as the day it was installed."
"How is that?!" I asked in amazement.
The Italian explained, "The equipment has to be installed and inspected by the World Bank people in order to get the loans, but it is never turned on; never used. It requires too much power and maintenance. They got their money. The equipment sits there unused. My job is easy."

It seems that the periodic inspections are required, and the technician must sign off that the equipment remains properly in place and serviceable. He is not required to report whether the equipment is actually used.

This is how the Chinese do business. The Chinese say that we Americans are "TOO HONEST," and therefore they can beat us! They have no moral compunction to be honest in the INTENT of contracts, and the environmental equipment situation is a real illustration. If any American thinks that the Chinese are going to REALLY comply with copyright and trade mark laws or agreements (for yet another example), they are very naive and gullible. These are reasons that I am opposed to the willy-nilly free trade agreements we foster worldwide.
27 posted on 11/26/2005 7:47:28 AM PST by Free Baptist
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