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An inane idea
The conflict in the disputed waters in the West Philippine Sea has birthed unnecessary and unpalatable narratives plus inane proposals to dramatize the country’s condemnation of the provocative and aggressive navigational acts coming from some government functionaries, apart from escalating the tension between claimants China and the Philippines. The repeated infuriating bullying by the Chinese Coast Guard on our own Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine vessels has been relentless. China has been oblivious to our countless diplomatic protests and calls for it to stop its incursions on our territorial waters, respect our sovereign rights and accept the arbitrary ruling handed by the Permanent Arbitration Court. It has turned deaf ears to our protestations. It has been unmoved by the collective expression of condemnation of its acts of aggression against the Philippines from countries consisting of the European Union, Japan, Australia Canada, and the United States. Not even the threat by the latter to use counter-offensive and defensive measures by way of enforcing the Mutual Defense Treaty between it and our country could soften China’s provocative and aggressive stance. It stubbornly refuses to recognize the arbitral ruling of the Permanent Arbitration Court that has rejected its nine-dash expansionist claim over a large part of the South China Sea while validating the Philippines’ claim over Ayungin Shoal as within its exclusive economic zone. China’s emergence from an underdeveloped and weak country to a superpower like the United States and Russia made it easy for it to adopt the maxim that might is right. Truly, from a sleeping giant, it has become a mighty dragon spewing fire. China’s unacceptable and outrageous assaults on our territorial waters, which must be stopped, is, however, not an excuse to call for a boycott of its products. It’s a stupid idea. The proponents have not considered the repercussions if we enforce such an inane thought. We cannot be hostage to that vexing conflict with China and throw to the winds the benefits derived from our trade relations with it. China, being the largest supplier of manufactured goods, is known as the “ world’s factory.“ Every imaginable household use, clothes, shoes, textiles, construction materials, kitchen and toilet fixtures, beauty equipment, electronic gadgets, toys, outdoor and interior decors, tiles, air conditioning units, electric fans, engineered floors, kitchen utensils, heavy machinery and equipment, engineered wood floors, and a thousand other items. Compared to US and European-made, Chinese-manufactured goods are much cheaper. No wonder, they are much preferred now by the average Filipino because of the affordable prices of these products. Quality-wise, they can give Western merchandise a run for their money. A government policy of boycotting goods coming from China will deprive millions of ordinary Filipinos to have them. This is an anti-poor program. The propagates of this boycott idea seem to be either ignorant or oblivious to the fact that China is the biggest trade partner of the Philippines. Philippines exports to China have reached a whopping $10.97 billion in 2022 while imports from China rose to $28.2 billion per the latest data. If we enforce a boycott policy of Chinese products, those figures will be jeopardized. Do those propagators of such foolish advocacy realize the monstrosity of that monumentally folly? (To be continued) The post An inane idea appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Boy Kuting
Senate President Migz Zubiri has shouted “boykotin ang Chinese products” to show Filipinos’ disgust over the Chinese Coast Guard’s water cannonading of our vessels resupplying the grounded BRP Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal recently. On cue, Senator Risa Hontiveros echoed the call in a Tweet, although her post carried the ironic line, “Sent from my iPhone 14,” a device that is wholly made in China. That is exactly the problem with this course of action: The use of Chinese products is well-nigh inescapable. And while it is right for every patriotic Filipino to exhibit outrage over this latest show of Chinese bullying, there must be some way to show our reproach other than calling for something that is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to execute, lest we be again mortified by our lack of capability. Let’s start with cars. It would be easy enough not to buy a Foton, JAC, GAC or MG automobile, as a lot of us consider them — fairly or not — as inferior to other makes. But if you buy one of the lower-end Toyotas, you must know that a great number of its components are made in China, through a tie-up with FAW. The same goes for Nissans and Hondas, especially when it comes to electronics and drive train components. Okay, so the well-heeled snobs among you will say, “To hell with the Asian carmakers, I’m going European!” Fine, except that Mercedes Benz is 15 percent outrightly owned by two Chinese companies, BYD (10 percent) and SAIC (5 percent). More than half of the components of BMW cars are made by the companies Power Xinchen and Beijing Shougang. Wanna make a wild guess as to the nationalities of these companies. As for Audi, a lot of them are made in the cities of Changchun and Foshan in… where else? This is because China is Audi’s biggest market, not Europe or North America. As for some Volkswagen models, many are totally made in China, so you can forget about that, too. Hitler, that ultimate racist and white supremacist, who designed the Volkswagen Beetle, would be turning in his grave (if he had one). Go electric, go Tesla, you might say, as it’s owned by that all-American Elon Musk. But almost all of Tesla’s batteries are made in China, so no cigar. Gadgets are also out of the equation. 95 percent of iPhones are made in China (with some made in India, but sometimes they don’t arrive). My Oppo Reno is made in China, and so are Huaweis. Even the legacy Nordic brand Nokia is made in China. You’d be better off with Samsung, which makes many of its phones in Vietnam, but not much. The Vietnamese have built structures in the disputed Spratly Islands. Clothing is also not a good category for boycotting. Skechers is an American brand, but its shoes are all Chinese. Rivals Adidas and Puma are in the same boat. Fans of Japan’s Uniqlo must know that they’re basically wearing Chinese-made clothes. The Amboys who prefer Guess are doing the same thing. Even luxury clothing brand Ralph Lauren has its products made by the same people who insist on the nine-dash line. I could go on and on, but I know, dear readers, that you get my drift. Our politicians, of course, thrive on grandstanding. But before they stand in the halls of the Senate before a podium made of Chinese wood laminate, to fulminate for a boycott of Chinese products into a microphone of Chinese manufacture, their irate voices amplified by electronics assembled by a Chinese company, so that their histrionics may be read on Chinese-made tablets and phones, they should remember that most of what we use is made in China. It is one of the tigers of the world economy; we are just a kitten and all our rantings just the meowing of a small “kuting, a boy kuting.” The post Boy Kuting appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
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