Will You Be Trying to Boycott Chinese Products?

maxyzee on 01/12/2020 - 20:00
Last edited 02/12/2020 - 09:00

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
General Discussion

Comments

            • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2020 - 21:09
              +8

              @Tiredman: Lol. Ok commie. You clearly want to pick on isolated or singular incidences and equate that to systemic and repetitive breaches of human rights of your comrades.

              • Tiredman on 01/12/2020 - 21:11
                +13

                @[Deactivated]: Commie? Right. And we are still in Iraq and Afghanistan.

                • maxyzee on 01/12/2020 - 21:24
                  +17

                  @Tiredman: You really think there’s an equivalence between China and here?
                  Ahh what about the mass cultural genocide that’s happening with the Uighurs happening right now as we speak. Do you really think Australia would do anything remotely like that to an ethnic minority group living in Australia?
                  I’m for most glad that I live in a country like Australia, yes it’s not perfect but far better living in an autocracy like China.
                  And before you say how would I know anything I myself have relatives that are locked up in those internment camps and there’s literally nothing we can do about it for fear of what might happen to other relatives living there that aren’t already locked up.

                  • Tiredman on 01/12/2020 - 21:29
                    +2

                    @maxyzee: Once again, i am saying both sides are bad. I hate the actions of the soldiers, i hate the actions of the CCP.

                    • maxyzee on 01/12/2020 - 21:47
                      +18

                      @Tiredman: Yes you can hate them both. Not the point here.

                      Australian defence forces did a bad thing. And because of free press and right to free speech and things like the freedom of information act it was reported! And the public then knew about it and there’ll be a due process to bring the perpetrators to justice or at least perceived perpetrators.

                      China does many bad things and those things will never see the light of day let alone the journalist that tries to report what went on.

                      Can you see there’s a difference?

                      • Tiredman on 01/12/2020 - 21:53
                        +4

                        @maxyzee: I hate the actions of both. That is all.

                  • TheWetHusky on 02/12/2020 - 15:15
                    +10

                    @maxyzee: Would Australia do anything like that? Maybe you should ask all those questions to the Aboriginal people and the answers will be yes and yes. Or consider the contemporary detention centre's (prisons) where children have been held for more than 7 years.

                    I am definitely grateful to live in Australia but despite what the Murdoch media would have you believe we are actually piss poor when it comes to human rights.

                    • oO0Dam0Oo on 03/12/2020 - 06:09

                      @TheWetHusky: Imagine if China had settled Australia all those years ago!

                      All I know is we shouldn’t sacrifice our way of life, values and freedoms for the sake of wealth and economy.

                      If we do this everything the ANZACS ever fought for would be in vain, and our way of life changed forever, at the mercy of an aggressive communist state.

                      No thanks!

                  • leeboy168 on 03/12/2020 - 09:02
                    +1

                    @maxyzee: Didn’t we do the same to aboriginal people 150-200 years ago?

                • Scythic on 03/12/2020 - 01:10

                  @Tiredman: Btw you seem so knowledgeable. Do you know who's selling arms to Iraq and Afghanistan?

            • Nuggets on 03/12/2020 - 13:02
              +2

              @Tiredman: The treatment of McBride is a blight on Australia. Just like many of the other injustices and human rights atrocities perpetrated by our country.

              Ultimately, as a country we weaken our own ability to hold others to account when we fail to uphold the standards we seek to apply to others.

              This does not lessen the evil that China or other nations are perpetrating, but it makes us on some level hypocrites.

              This is particularly damning when we attempt to gag whistleblowers or prosecute them in secret courts and then act like we are a free and just society.

        • brendanm on 01/12/2020 - 21:12
          -1

          Surely you realise that the same (or worse) things happen at the behest of the Chinese government? The difference being they will never let it see the light of day.

          • Tiredman on 01/12/2020 - 21:13
            +2

            @brendanm: AFAIK i am condeming both. We invaded another country, they the same towards the minorities. I don't like the actions of either.

            • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2020 - 21:17
              +6

              @Tiredman: Yes, invading two countries is the same as having "reduction camps" for tens of millions, using police to silence dissent, annexing neighbouring territories, ignoring maritime laws, occupying neighbouring seas, breaking trade sanctions.

              Yeah. The same.

              • Tiredman on 01/12/2020 - 21:19
                +2

                @[Deactivated]: Very funny you are. I am condemning both and you are trying to justify one being better than the other. Both are bad. End of story.

                • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2020 - 21:23
                  +5

                  @Tiredman: Of course both are bad but one is worse.

                  Shooting a few civilians and gassing a few million are also not equal.

                  Both bad. Not equal.

                  If you pass off every atrocity as "equal" then you are intentionally breaking down the difference between genocides and murders.

                    • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2020 - 21:25
                      +15

                      @Tiredman: One is worse. Is it that hard to understand?

                      • Tiredman on 01/12/2020 - 21:26
                        -6

                        @[Deactivated]: I couldn't care less what you think. Both are bad.

                      • Fiximol on 01/12/2020 - 21:36
                        +25

                        @[Deactivated]: It doesn't matter that one is worse.

                        Behind the tasteless and tactless method of delivery, the message is something I can agree with and I expect the same thing that the Chinese are demanding - that the Australian Government will come out and say that this should not have happened and they will do everything to make sure it doesn't happen again. I hope this is something we can all agree on. Just because it was your 'enemy' who called you out, it does not stop it from being true.

                        You can (should) side with China calling out the Australian soldiers, and at the same time, you can (should) side with Australia on calling out human right violations in China. They are consistent, and not mutually exclusive. Calling out human right abuses, wherever they are, should be done. There should not be a 'right' for who can, or can't speak about these things.

                        Just because someone sides with China on one issue, does not mean they condone their actions for everything else.

                        • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2020 - 21:40

                          @Fiximol: Have I at any point defended the alleged actions of the aforementioned Australian soldiers?

                          We will condemn them if the due process reveals that they are indeed guilty.

                          They are not calling them out because they want justice. They are Photoshopping images of Australian soldiers committing atrocities because they want to pass off the accusation as fact.

                          You can (should) side with China calling out the Australian soldiers

                          You are doing the same thing and thus furthering the agenda.

                          I have no reservation in condemning the guilty.

                          It does matter which is worse unless you are trying to downplay the atrocities of that which is worse.

                          • Fiximol on 01/12/2020 - 22:00
                            +8

                            @[Deactivated]:

                            Have I at any point defended the alleged actions of the aforementioned Australian soldiers?

                            I never claimed that you did, but you are dismissing anyone who sided with China on this one particular issue with "OK Commie" - while completely ignoring the substance of the comment - which was that we should be against all these atrocities. Just because it happens to be 'furthering their agenda' it doesn't mean what they are saying is wrong. Don't let the person who spoke the words affect what was said.

                            It does matter which is worse unless you are trying to downplay the atrocities of that which is worse.

                            I happen to think that none of these things should be happening - they all cross the line. For me, I don't believe we should be measuring how far it crossed that line, so I believe we will have to agree to disagree on this point. By bringing magnitude into all this just feels like an attempt at deflection, even if it was not meant to be one.

                            • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2020 - 22:25
                              +2

                              @Fiximol:

                              I never claimed that you did, but you are dismissing anyone who sided with China on this one particular issue with "OK Commie"

                              Anyone? When did one person become "anyone"?

                              Glad to see you can see the obvious bias of that one person. If you can see the bias then you can clearly see the connection to communism and connect the dots yourself.

                              while completely ignoring the substance of the comment

                              The substance of the comment was that Australia has commited atrocities. I have addressed it specifically. "We don't condemn our soldiers on allegations alone. We will condemn them if the due process reveals that they are indeed guilty."

                              It's ironic that you call me out for ignoring substance.

                              I don't believe we should be measuring how far it crossed that line

                              So stealing apples and rape should be the same? I too feel, "that none of these things should be happening".

                              By bringing magnitude into all this just feels like an attempt at deflection

                              No. By using binary labels to address wrongdoing is the "deflection".

                              (PS. You claim you didn't imply that I was defending the alleged Australian atrocity. "You can (should) side with China calling out the Australian soldiers". You "can/should" implies "I do not".)

                              • unfinishedsentenc on 03/12/2020 - 11:15
                                -1

                                @[Deactivated]: Dude.. Shut up. Stop trying to justify Australia's actions by finding someone worse. Doesn't make what we're doing any right.

                                • sakurashu on 03/12/2020 - 13:09

                                  @unfinishedsentenc: Except this entire post is about boycotting Chinese products - not boycotting Australian products. Discussing China therefore falls directly into the topic

                            • Tiredman on 01/12/2020 - 22:37

                              @Fiximol: Thanks @Fiximol. Fortunately, name callings doesn't bother me.

                        • SF3 on 01/12/2020 - 21:48

                          @Fiximol: If only the world was “fair” and everybody obey the same rules and play the same game, unfortunately the world doesn’t operate that way.

                          This doesn’t mean it’s right, but important to be aware incompatible rules (all created by people).

                        • sakurashu on 02/12/2020 - 13:09

                          @Fiximol: It absolutely matters that one is worse - take your brain out of the microwave.

                          It always matters which is worse - for everything. It's completely reductionist to just claim everything is bad; our legal system doesn't have a prison sentence for "bad" it has sentences differing on the severity of the crime - this is no different.

                          You can disagree with multiple bad things and you may even disagree with the severity order based on your own personal values, but it's pretty clear to almost everyone which is worse.

                          Saying we should spend just as much effort and time for a smaller crime as we should for widespread genocide because they are both "bad" is deliberately obtuse enough to make people believe you are genuinely defending ethnic genocide

                          • Fiximol on 02/12/2020 - 13:21
                            +3

                            @sakurashu:

                            Saying we should spend just as much effort and time for a smaller crime as we should for widespread genocide because they are both "bad" is deliberately obtuse enough to make people believe you are genuinely defending ethnic genocide

                            If you had actually read and comprehended what I wrote - you may have noticed that contrary to what you wrote, I am condemning everything. I EXPLICTLY wrote that you can and should call out China with their human rights abuses. If that counts as defending, well, then I think we have very different definitions of what defense means.

                            • sakurashu on 02/12/2020 - 14:02

                              @Fiximol: If you don't think their human rights abuses are worse and should be treated as such which is heavily implicated by your comments and stance against tshow saying exactly that - then yes, that's clearly a defence in that it attempts to mitigate how bad their human rights violations are. If you do indeed agree that their violations are worse then you shouldn't be defending simplistic statements from Monkeybob claiming they are simply both "bad"

                              Give up on the passive aggressive fluff comments about reading and comprehending and stick to the topic eh?

                              • Fiximol on 02/12/2020 - 16:47
                                +6

                                @sakurashu: I am doubting that you read my posts because you keep painting me in a position to which I have explicitly stated that I am not in. This will be the third time I say this - we should be against human rights abuses in China. I don't know how to say this any more clearly. However if you believe that just because I am agreeing with them that Australian soldiers committed a horrible crime in this particular instance somehow means I am excusing them of their own human right abuses in China then I don't know what else to say.

                                Just because they are in the wrong for one thing, it does not mean that what they have said regarding the Australian soldiers (the issue behind the message, not the delivery itself which was tasteless and tactless) was wrong. Just because my stance is in some alignment with them in this particular issue (which I fully understand for China was politically motivated) does not mean I am somehow lessening their own sins. It's not a sliding scale from "For Australia" and "For China", so please don't make this another 'if you are not for us you are against us' issue. There is a position that both sides are wrong - which is where I stand. Your attempts to invalidate such a position by painting my opinion to one side is destructive. You can silence the middle ground (sometimes there seems to be no point in explaining when you don't seem to be heard - like me having to repeat myself for the third time saying the same thing - and it just feels pointless to try and engage in discussion) and only be left with the extremists and that's when things get really bad.

                                I understand the sentiments being expressed here (I have been conditioned to avoid made in China food as much as possible since I was born, not so much because of some nationalistic ideal but because we perceive that they may be unsafe. Chinese people also share this belief, which is why they import so much Australian formula, for example) - so long as it does not devolve into general sinophobia. For all his faults, I give credit where credit is due, ScoMo did right reaching out to the Australian Chinese community which, cynically, is a political move to secure domestic votes, but also the right one (not dissimilar to the topic being discussed, but in a far more constructive manner).

                                • Tiredman on 03/12/2020 - 08:38
                                  +1

                                  @Fiximol: "'if you are not for us you are against us' issue. There is a position that both sides are wrong - which is where I stand."

                                  Yes this. Seriously. Can't even have our own opinions without getting shat on. Doing my head in and i'm the commmie. Think i'm done here.

                                • sakurashu on 03/12/2020 - 12:55

                                  @Fiximol: Are China's human rights abuses worse than Australia's?

                                  Not are they bad or are you against them - do you think they are worse. That's the core of the response I took issue with - relegating them both to being "bad". It's a simple question you've refused to answer.

                                  EDIT: looks like you have answered it in response to tshow

                                  I happen to think that none of these things should be happening - they all cross the line. For me, I don't believe we should be measuring how far it crossed that line, so I believe we will have to agree to disagree on this point. By bringing magnitude into all this just feels like an attempt at deflection, even if it was not meant to be one.

                                  The deflection here would be discussing something that has nothing to do with the post topic (Australian war crimes) rather than something directly related (China's behaviour in reference to boycotting Chinese products).
                                  Magnitude is always important - you can't possibly believe otherwise or you'd be constantly struck by decision paralysis on equal-way ties for everything. Or is it only for things that are bad enough that magnitude doesn't matter? In which case I hope you don't work in the legal industry

                              • Tiredman on 03/12/2020 - 08:35

                                @sakurashu: Simple answers to simple questions. I believe in listening more and talking less.

                        • oO0Dam0Oo on 03/12/2020 - 06:17
                          +1

                          @Fiximol: Agree with your comments only China is less interested in the actual human rights offences committed by Australian soldiers, and more interested in using it as a propaganda reference to suit their agenda. It was not raised diplomatically but with provocative intent.

                    • SF3 on 01/12/2020 - 21:28
                      +2

                      @Tiredman: Is not binary 0 1 , Yes No.

                      If you had to weight the level of “badness” who have higher score? It doesn’t matter if the difference is by 1 unit of measure or some minuscule fraction.

                      • Tiredman on 01/12/2020 - 21:30
                        -1

                        @SF3: China = Bad, Australia invading another country = Bad.

                        • SF3 on 01/12/2020 - 21:31
                          +2

                          @Tiredman: Ok, you now sound like them. 😆

        • petry on 02/12/2020 - 12:30
          +3

          They have been trying to manage it away for 5 years now.

          Serving heroes who fessed up were abandoned by their government and their army - so effectively their country - and left to die.

          Security laws were abused to shut up reporters.

          When our planes were killing civilians that was denied in the same time period - the report is the tip of an iceberg and was underfunded from the getgo to minimise its findings.

          Australian hypocrisy has reached heights of lunacy, and frankly when the media endlessly regurgitates fox employees as credible commentators, you might as well not bother listening to any of the shit being pumped out.

        • arcticjuggernaut on 02/12/2020 - 12:53
          +3

          Australia there is some transparency and you really think we need to compare our history vs China? It's the definition of irony having China point the finger at us over this. You are basically saying mass murderer's and car thieves are both criminals so they should be judged equally. We admitted to what happened, published it and made it available, can you please reference some instances where China has confessed anything like this?

    • Tiredman on 01/12/2020 - 22:03
      -4

      Alright. Time to report and close this.

    • miwahni on 01/12/2020 - 22:56
      +18

      But Australia didn't "invade" Afghanistan; our soldiers are there as part of a Nato-led force that was invited by the Afghanistani government to assist them with the training of their forces. I don't condone (quite the opposite) what around 30 of our soldiers did there. It was shameful. But keep perspective; it was around 30 rogues out of around 20,000 troops deployed, and our government does not condone either, and will get to the bottom of this. It's not like the Army "invaded" and proceeded killing civilians indiscriminately.

      China's record of human rights abuses is not only against minorities. Tianamen Square, for example.

      Yes, both are "bad". 30 rogue soldiers vs Chinese government. And that is the difference. Australian government does not condone these actions; Chinese government perpetrates them.

      • Tiredman on 01/12/2020 - 23:10
        -4

        Yes both are bad.

        • gorgrond on 02/12/2020 - 10:05
          +7

          Stop moving the goalpost, mate.

          You said, "both are bad so there's no reason to boycott".

          They are saying, "no, no is far worse than the other one, so it makes sense to boycott".

          You're now just saying "both are bad" as if the "badness" was the goal of the discussion.

      • mrvaluepack on 02/12/2020 - 13:13
        +4

        They did invade, no question about it and no one pointed a gun at their head asking them to join the coalition.

        When war happens, shit like this happens 100% of the time. The only difference is technology has caught up, to paraphrase Will Smith - War crimes and civilian killings are not getting worse. It's getting filmed.

        Countries that instigated and were involved deserve to deal with the consequences.

      • leeboy168 on 03/12/2020 - 09:22

        G’day mate i think you need to look further back before the “government” invited them! They were the government!

    • AustriaBargain on 02/12/2020 - 00:32
      +7

      We invaded because we were and still are basically vassals of the US. If China one day holds the big stick then we'll probably help out with their wars too. It's not great, but if a world war breaks out then it's kind of a high reward situation.

  • skido on 01/12/2020 - 20:50
    +10

    fam, this is ozbargain. We care about low prices and good deals.

    the last thing we'd ever need is our wallet on life support from buying essential goods

    • brendanm on 01/12/2020 - 21:14
      +2

      Low prices doesn't necessarily mean good deals. Seems to be hard for some people to get their heads around this

      Quality is very important. You may buy a cheap thing for $100 and it lasts a year, whereas if you had spent $150-200, the item would be higher quality, and last 5 years. The more expensive item is actually far cheaper in the long run, you don't have the annoyance of it breaking, and you stop waste. Buying things on price alone is a very silly way of doing it.

      • skido on 01/12/2020 - 21:22
        +2

        low prices and good deals

        taking both into account

        more expensive item is actually far cheaper in the long run, you don't have the annoyance of it breaking, and you stop waste.

        most people usually decide based on the brand for expensive items. most goods from big brands (apple, google, Sony, etc) are made in China anyway which have been fine quality wise

        Buying things on price alone is a very silly way of doing it.

        ozbargain says otherwise.

    • DeeTrance on 01/12/2020 - 21:56
      -4

      Not at the cost of selling out the country to the Communist, and be shackled to their money. I don't want my kids to have to speak Chinese and call Mainland China 'Master'

      • skido on 01/12/2020 - 21:59

        I don't want my kids to have to speak Chinese

        their loss. Chinese is the most popular language in the world and is highly sought after in a range of industries.

        call Mainland China 'Master'

        lmao wot… they don't say that…

        • DeeTrance on 01/12/2020 - 22:06
          +2

          Not yet.

          and Incorrect, English is the most popular language in the world, and is mostly widely spoken. Yes, I understand that there are 1.4Billion Chinese in the world, but that doesn't make it the most popular.

  • T-man on 01/12/2020 - 20:56
    +2

    I still buy the products made in china but the western brands like Nice, Sony, Apple, GoPro, Nintendo

    But I have never bought anything from the chinese brands like hua wei, oppo, xiaomi, miniso, and some chinese restaurant chains

    And I beg them not to buy and swap all the baby formula in our super market and sending to china, buy the products in china and feed their children.

    • Ughhh on 01/12/2020 - 21:11

      And I beg them not to buy and swap all the baby formula in our super market and sending to china, buy the products in china and feed their children.

      Huh. On paper there laws and regulations, but reality is it depends who has more money.

    • SF3 on 01/12/2020 - 21:16

      And I beg them

      It’s what they want you to do. But they won’t do anything (besides having a good laugh).

    • bunzie27 on 03/12/2020 - 15:02
      +2

      when did sony and nintendo become western?

  • Godric on 01/12/2020 - 21:05
    +7

    If it's a bargain, I buy, i don't care where it's from

  • askme69 on 01/12/2020 - 21:10
    -2

    I always do at great cost and I'm not rich by any stretch.

    Fk buying anything from Commies. And Russia can go and get fk as well.

  • Quantumcat on 01/12/2020 - 21:12

    Well it is too late to buy anything from China for Christmas now. Unless you celebrate Christmas in July.

    • abb on 02/12/2020 - 11:31

      Well it is too late to buy anything from China for Christmas now.

      You might be interested to learn of places called "shops" that buy stuff in advance and then place it on a shelf, such that you may take it home immediately, even though it was manufactured in China…

    • xdigger on 02/12/2020 - 17:03

      That has to do with Auspost not picking up the slack and using the pandemic as an excuse to cut delivery services and increase profit margins so they reward their executives with luxury watches.

  • avoidfullprice on 01/12/2020 - 21:13

    I will avoid buying from companies" who mistreats women in their workplace, or don't pay their female staff the same as their male counterparts…..

    "Entities that are shamed on media… Because I can't be ass reading reports elsewhere

  • reeeom on 01/12/2020 - 21:18
    +7

    call out Australia for human rights abuses

    has Australia seen how their own soldiers treated the afghan people? take a look…

    https://twitter.com/evazhengll/status/1333426352582774785

    • Your Friend on 01/12/2020 - 21:55
      +1

      everyone can say what they want but that video is pretty disturbing, and I hope these Aussie soliders get the therapy/support they need

      • AustriaBargain on 02/12/2020 - 00:37
        +7

        I think the family of the murdered man probably could do with therapy more than these two. I hope the two men in this video both become model prisoners, with or without prison therapy. Throwing away the best years of their own lives and reputations just for a moment of casual murder. Can't understand it.

        That video is really disgusting, can't get over it. I know in Australian culture it's normal to cover up stuff like this, corruption is normal in Australia (every year every state has a round of embarrassing corruption incidents). But on the world stage it's really just sad and embarrassing, lays bare everything wrong internally with Australia's way of doing things.

        • abb on 02/12/2020 - 11:36
          +1

          It may shock you to learn that Australia is quite well ranked in terms of corruption. (ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index )

          If you think corruption is bad here, well, you should see how bad it is in some other countries.

          • petry on 02/12/2020 - 12:35
            +1

            @abb: still falling and it will keep falling

          • AustriaBargain on 02/12/2020 - 17:26
            +1

            @abb: Yeah I mean it's not like people are comfortable openly asking for bribes here like in Mexico or Brazil. But it's still appalling that corruption is so normal here and there doesn't seem to be any will to change things. And that's perceived levels of corruption, not actual corruption. Do you think all the corrupt people in Australia are ticking the "I am corrupt" box on the census? It could be corruption is even more prevalent in Australia, just in a different way than it is in most other countries. Could be more casual here, could be corruption in Australia means being allowed to break the law because of connections with government, rather than just handing over a wad of cash when caught doing something wrong. "Do you know who I am?" vs "Do you know how much I can afford to pay?"

            • abb on 03/12/2020 - 11:53

              @AustriaBargain: If you check the wiki page, they claim that corruption perception maps well to other proxies to detect corruption.

              Yes, we still have problems, and more work is needed. A federal agency to monitor the politicians is sorely overdue.

  • thatonethere on 01/12/2020 - 21:24

    Probably difficult to stop buying Chinese where they are dominant, but if you were inclined you could could nibble at the edges and avoid buying where they aren't dominant in the Australian market - eg Huawei, Volvo, GE Appliances, Tommy Tippee, Motorola, Club Med, MG etc

  • vikvance on 01/12/2020 - 21:25
    +10

    The belief that your 'boycott' will make any difference in the scheme of things is a delusion.

    It is better to face reality and understand that it is only in the sphere of your family and friends, where your actions make a difference.

    You are unimportant at a global or a national level. You are important at a family and friend level.

    Instead of wasting your time getting agitated about political events, you should be thinking about how you can be a better person & improve the lives of your loved ones.

    • maxyzee on 01/12/2020 - 21:36
      +2

      So we shouldn’t give a s**t at the end of the day? As I mentioned in the post I don’t see how we could actually boycott Chinese products and even if we could it be really of no consequence to China.

      I’m just interested in seeing if at least get some momentum going in terms of incentivising businesses to move supply chains away from China and disincentivizing businesses moving supply chains into China that in then in the future we as a country would be a better position to negotiate. Sorta like a domino effect and other countries that share similar values to Australia could follow suit.

      Right now though I don’t see how there could be anything effective, just having a conversation about it.

      • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2020 - 21:50
        +3

        I think we should aim to self sufficient vs trying (in futility) to boycott any country.

        2020 has demonstrated that we shouldn't throw stones because of our glass house.

        A boycott would just be throwing more stones and doing nothing about the glass house.

        • maxyzee on 01/12/2020 - 22:03

          Yes we should be more self sufficient. But how would we actually get to that point? It’s not like businesses would make their products more expensive (thus less competitive) or operate at a loss out of the kindness of their own hearts in an effort to produce non Chinese made products.

          So therefore wouldn’t you want to show at least something that we as Australians demand that at least Australian businesses should stop relying on China so much.

          Dunno just spitballing here but yes we should be more self sufficient.

          • [Deactivated] on 01/12/2020 - 22:13
            +1

            @maxyzee: Instead of looking at it as "don't buy from China", perhaps look at how we can produce necessities that we currently have no means of local production.

            You're looking at it as a obligatory consumer.

            Perhaps look at it as if you have the capacity to be a producer.

      • SF3 on 01/12/2020 - 22:04
        +2

        (Most) Businesses only care about profit and stability (i.e. obedience of their workers), I think these are something we in Australia can’t compete with at scale.

        In most Western nations, employees get upset via strikes and other business disruptions - activities any business would hate to occur. Look at us in OzB lot’s of comments posted in “shooting from the hip” (easily triggered) style… 😆

        So, unless the governments changes the rules or (western workers) magically change overtime to be more business friendly, I can’t see how things will change by osmosis. I’m not advocating for sweat shop wages or alike, the problem is the rules (or lack of them, in case of “free markets”) are bias to favour certain attributes.

        Is the world “fair”, no. IMO, as a nation we ought to play a different game… I don’t have the answer.

        • abb on 02/12/2020 - 11:43

          Robots don't ask for overtime

    • abb on 02/12/2020 - 11:42
      +3

      A single woman asking for the right to vote is irrelevant, so she shouldn't bother.
      A single worker going on strike will never result in an 8 hour day becoming normalised, so no-one should bother.
      A single black woman sitting on a bus will never result in rights for black people in the US, so she shouldn't bother.

      Except all these things worked, because many people got involved.

      • pointblank on 02/12/2020 - 19:06

        Completely agree. China is already hurting a lot more than it shows. They don't count migrant workers in their unemployment stats for instance.

        Whenever you see other nationalities boycott goods it's possible to see that it makes a significant difference. Australia is no different.

    • KiKH on 02/12/2020 - 18:33

      Yes, instead of wasting your time getting agitated about political events, you should be more actively and meaningfully engaged in those political events.

  • Fier2 on 01/12/2020 - 21:33
    +7

    Good luck on trying to boycott!…as basically everything in Australia is from China! From the couch to the clothes to the phones or even food are all harvest from China! If everything was 100% Australian, the price will be triple what you pay right now!

    • xdigger on 02/12/2020 - 17:06

      The elegant solution to this would be to cut minimum wages and the costs of doing business so that manufacturing can be brought back into Australia and we can be more self-reliant. Wages and welfare in Australia are way too high and have been previously subsidised by the huge Chinese trade surplus, driving up the costs of business and disincentivising Australians to do any real work.

    • abb on 03/12/2020 - 11:50

      This is false, and this attitude encourages people to do nothing.

      Plenty of food (dare I say, most?) in my local supermarket comes from Australia.
      I was looking at furniture at the recent Thanksgiving sales and there are many AU-made options. They were more expensive, but also of higher quality.
      Samsung has apparently stopped making phones in China.

      You can't buy a 100% AU-made smartphone, this is correct. You can buy a 100% made in China one, you can buy a 70% made in China, or you can buy a 20% made in China. These choices are not equivalent with regard to money flowing into China.

      Don't fall into the trap of "all or nothing". Real life doesn't work that way.

  • jlev on 01/12/2020 - 21:37
    +1

    I've noticed a lot of bricks-and-mortar customers avoiding gifts made in China this year. Online customers not so much, but it's hard to know because in store you can see them pick up the product, read the label of where it's made, and then put it back on the shelf.

    Fortunately thanks to COVID we bought a lot less Chinese-made stuff this year.

    • petry on 02/12/2020 - 12:37
      +3

      Yeah i avoid yank indian and turkish - biggest genocidal regimes in the world.

      its getting harder though because our yank owned pollies have successfully raised import prices to make yank products more importable - pretty obvious why - so slave child labour is now ausssie policy as well…

  • Clear on 01/12/2020 - 21:44
    +1

    Boycott products with yeast or gluten. Gluten you're a lot safer with as we're able to source gluten in Australia more easily, but yeast…. yeah that's really hard to source locally and most of the world's supply comes from China.

    People always forget there's more to it than just electronics when talking about a "boycott".

  • DeeTrance on 01/12/2020 - 22:04
    +9

    I've avoided "Made in China" for as much as I can over the last 12 months - both on a personal level and at the professional level.

    Personal:

    • Food: Avoid anything from China when it comes to food and produce, e.g Garlic. But local.
    • Hardware: No more $2 type, discount rubbish. Unfortunately, this is expensive as almost everything at Bunnings is from China
    • Home Theatre: This is tough, I look for Made in Japan, USA or Europe
    • Clothing and Shoes: At least many are now made in Vietnam and Bangladesh

    Professionally:
    - Automation products, Motors, Gearboxes for machines, gates, and doors. I push non-Chinese products whenever possible.
    - Work phone: Samsung or iPhone. Yes I know they are made in China and Vietnam, at least it's better than Huawei and Oppo

    I am very conscious of any Made in China these days. I never make any purchases from Aliexpress, Gearbest, and all those rubbish sites.

    edit:
    Yes, the little things can make a bigger impacts.

    • maxyzee on 01/12/2020 - 22:30

      Interesting. Do you find yourself however at times with no option? E.g there is no other equivalent tool/part/accessory etc. that isn’t made in China or price difference is too prohibitive?

      I’m also thinking of toys and I find that to be impossible to find something not made in China especially the licensed toys

      • DeeTrance on 01/12/2020 - 22:42
        +1

        Currently, it is very difficult and we have to do it over time. It is impossible to avoid Chinese footprints nowadays - almost everything we buy enriches China, and further shackles us to them.

        We can change this. China has 1.4Billion people, it doesn't have enough land, food, or natural resources to sustain itself. China desperately desires Australian products for the quality (e.g Milk, baby powder, meat) and our resources to fuel its economy.

        China is making enemies with the world, and sooner or later, that will bite it on the ass.

        • CalmLemons on 02/12/2020 - 22:15

          It will definitely bite them in the arse, and hopefully the regime will change, sooner, rather than later.

          Unfortunately, we got super lazy and super economically stupid by allowing industries to be nearly 90% reliant on 1 customer.

          China, meanwhile, has been changing their reliance by having multiple global suppliers and also producing much of their supply internally now - like doing the smart thing.

          So that line of thinking that we are China's only answer to their food and resource shortage is a bit of wishful thinking.

          I doubt by not being tactful with our words (we should stick to our guns though) politically that desire of Australian products is going to stay for much longer. Be careful what you wish for. I'm not saying we shouldn't stick up for our rights, but we should be careful with our words, as it's our words that have hurt us more than any of our actions Here's a great article: https://theconversation.com/australia-can-repair-its-relatio…

          China is definitely making enemies with the world, but it's the rest of the world that is taking the business that we have lost. We need to be smart, not just bang our heads on the wall and yell at people like a lunatic in public thinking it is going to bring about a result.

          Politics is not simply reading the news and taking up the first opinion you read in the headline, as per James Maxton form the British Labour party "If you can't ride two horses at once, you shouldn't be in the circus"

        • petry on 03/12/2020 - 01:09

          america already has…the blowback on its allies is just beginning..

    • petry on 02/12/2020 - 12:40
      +2

      good to know you support child slave labor though…

  • munlee on 01/12/2020 - 22:13
    +2

    Already avoided MIC for a number of years, especially food.. that is a no go zone, when we already have local fresh produce

    • CalmLemons on 02/12/2020 - 22:18

      I've seen this made in china food comments a few times, where on earth do people shop? Unless I'm in an asian grocery, to buy made in china foods, i rarely find MIC foods in the supermarket.

      • [Deactivated] on 06/12/2020 - 19:02

        Most Coles/Woolies home branded products are either made in China/India or "made"/packaged locally from ingredients sourced from China/India.

        • CalmLemons on 06/12/2020 - 19:11
          +1

          I actually like shopping at aldi and buying their branded stuff, most of which is made in australia.

          Aldi do a lot better at their home brand labels which is mostly everything they have.

          bare in mind certain herbs and raw ingredients are only grown in china and india.

          Boycotting products historically has never worked. Provides some short term media publicity.

  • DollaNsense on 01/12/2020 - 22:26
    +4

    No Chance i will be passing the cheap bargains.

    So Tim smith Tweeting a deck Card list with the premier Face on it is ok.

    Nice try making this a nationalistic crusade.

    Here is a thought The Fed Government is mad about it "Apparently" Lead the way and withdraw from Asia pacific trade deal unless China apologize. Lets face it Australia wants to make a bigger meal out of it, sooner or later they will realize you do not pick a fight with a superpower to win cheap votes and not expect bigger rocks thrown back. This Government needs to learn to know its place and stop getting instructions from Trump and co.

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