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by tdignan 4802 days ago
Of course the same 3/10 Americans will not flinch when they buy Chinese manufactured iPods and other gadgets. Since, China doesn't own the brand. It's clearly not about nationalism, but about a general distaste for China. The same Americans will probably snag a BMW or a Mercedes without a second thought.

For those of you defending Chinese made goods, that's understandable. I don't think anyone should take a nationalist viewpoint on these issues.

However, you should note that political prisoners in China's Laogai are often manufacturing some of the Chinese goods you consume, which are not labeled as such, and made in violation of Chinese law. A quick google turns up this: http://laogai.org/system/files/pdf/inland_web.pdf More googling will inevitably turn up that products such as sesame street (tm) slippers, toilet paper, and other big box store staples are made this way. See also: http://laogai.org/blog/laogai-museum-window-china%E2%80%99s-...

Though the term "Laogai" is dated and China stopped referring to them that way in the 90s, a documentary by Al-Jazeera English (Which got the news network EXPELLED from China) makes me think a lot different:

http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/slaverya21stcenturyevil/...

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/05/201257195...