It brought back the dilemmas one faces when dealing with China. I recall a visit to a small factory outside Shanghai where pieces of antique furniture salvaged from all over China by furniture traders on behalf of largely foreign dealers were reconstructed back into into "antiques" for the foreign market. For example a chair that is sold as antique may actually only have one leg that is original. The furniture workers, some as young as 7 years old [my estimate], cleverly create the illusion of age through special techniques [like burying the pieces after finishing them].
The working conditions were appalling. The air was thick with sawdust and thinners. They worked on apparently oblivious. I was really shocked. This was say, 20 km from downtowm Shanghai.
Such is the dilemma of values. If they did not work their families would be even poorer. I can only say that I think are improving. Generally life appears better now for the average person.
I can contrast this with my visit to the Volvo factory in Pudong also in 2003 where I saw an immaculate, safe workplace where workers were encouraged to develop themselves and their skills in a supportive and productive environment.
The ethics and principles of Volvo in regard to the workplace, safety, the environment and the people were clearly implimented in a transparent manner. My hope is that this is the real direction. It was evidence enough in itself.
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