Defence Statements: Well Considered [2008]

“DATE RAPE” DRUG THREATENS OUR KIDS

            “The toy advertised by Wal-Mart as the top toy of the season had to be recalled after it was discovered that children in Texas, Delaware, New Hampshire, Illinois and Utah fell sick and were hospitalized because of swallowing the toy’s bead-like parts.  After 4.2 million were recalled, China finally admitted that the beads in Aqua Dots contained a substance that can turn into the ‘date-rape’ drug after children swallow them.

            “That drug, gamma-hydroxy butyrate, causes breathing problems, loss of consciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.  Aqua Dots were supposed to have been coated with a nontoxic chemical, but that chemical costs three or four times the price of the poisonous compound, so the Chinese manufacturer couldn’t resist using the cheaper product.” 

WHY GIVE THEM OUR BUSINESS?

            “According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website, 26 million toys and other products made in China have been recalled by U.S. companies since August.  Even the Boy Scouts of America had to recall 1 million Chinese-made plastic badges that contained unsafe amounts of lead.

            “Chinese products for children found to contain unacceptable levels of lead include vinyl baby bibs, Thomas the Tank Engine sets, Baby Einstein Discover & Play Color Blocks, Pirates of the Caribbean medallion squeeze lights, Totally Me! Funky Room Décor Sets, Hannah Montana handbags and Barbie doll accessories.

            “Australia recalled hundreds of blankets imported from China in October because they contained formaldehyde up to 10 times the level permissible under international standards.  The World [Health] Organization has classified formaldehyde as a known human carcinogen.” 

ONLY ONE PERCENT OF SEAFOOD IS TESTED

            “Chinese seafood is potentially more dangerous.  About 80 percent of seafood consumed by Americans is imported, and the Food and Drug Administration inspects and tests only 1 percent.

            “Lab tests show that China uses antibiotics to treat fish raised in filthy waters where bacteria, viruses and parasites breed.  Lab testers say that when seafood is rejected for an illegal chemical, the Chinese simply switch to another harmful chemical.

            “Often found in imported fish is a fungicide called malachite green, which is illegal to use in food in the United States because studies show it can cause cancer and birth defects.” 

SLAVE LABOR GIVES BEIJING A FINANCIAL EDGE

            “Alabama has its own tests and rejects 50 percent to 60 percent of all fish imports.  Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture Ron Sparks personally visited Asia to witness seafood farmed in sewage.

            “Chinese products are so cheap because workers in Guangdong, where most Chinese toys are made, are primarily 17- to 25-year-old females who average 16-hour workdays, six to seven days a week, and earn about $50 per month.  They live in unhealthy, overcrowded dormitories where a bed is their only possession.” 

BIG BROTHER WANTS TO KNOW

            “With the 2008 Olympic games coming soon, China is stepping up its censorship under the official slogan ‘constructing a harmonious society.’  Visitors who click on China’s largest Internet site, called Sina.com, are greeted by two cute cartoon police figures, one male and one female, who pop up onscreen every 30 minutes.