[lit-ideas] Re: Another American job, lost to Chinese...
- From: Teemu Pyyluoma <teme17@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 02:42:15 -0800 (PST)
This reminds me of the instant classic from the Onion:
Chinese Factory Worker Can't Believe The Shit He Makes
For Americans
June 15, 2005 | Issue 41?24
FENGHUA, CHINA?Chen Hsien, an employee of Fenghua
Ningbo Plastic Works Ltd., a plastics factory that
manufactures lightweight household items for Western
markets, expressed his disbelief Monday over the
"sheer amount of shit Americans will buy."
"Often, when we're assigned a new order for, say,
'salad shooters,' I will say to myself, 'There's no
way that anyone will ever buy these,'" Chen said
during his lunch break in an open-air courtyard. "One
month later, we will receive an order for the same
product, but three times the quantity. How can anyone
have a need for such useless shit?"
Chen, 23, who has worked as an injection-mold operator
at the factory since it opened in 1996, said he
frequently asks himself these questions during his
workweek, which exceeds 60 hours and earns him the
equivalent of $21.
"I hear that Americans can buy anything they want, and
I believe it, judging from the things I've made for
them," Chen said. "And I also hear that, when they no
longer want an item, they simply throw it away. So
wasteful and contemptible."
Among the items that Chen has helped create are
plastic-bag dispensers, microwave omelet cookers,
glow-in-the-dark page magnifiers, Christmas-themed
file baskets, animal-shaped contact-lens cases, and
adhesive-backed wall hooks.
"Sometimes, an item the factory produces resembles
nothing I've ever seen," Chen said. "One time, we made
something that looked like a ladle, but it had holes
in its cup and a handle that bent down 90 degrees. The
foreman told us that it was a soda-can holder for an
automobile. If you are lucky enough to own a car, sit
back and enjoy the journey. Save the soda beverage for
later."
Chen added: "A cup holder is not a necessary thing to
own."
Chen expressed similar confusion over the tens of
thousands of pineapple corers, plastic eyeshades,
toothpick dispensers, and dog pull-toys that he has
helped manufacture.
"Why the demand for so many kitchen gadgets?" Chen
said. "I can understand having a good wok, a rice
cooker, a tea kettle, a hot plate, some utensils, good
china, a teapot with a strainer, and maybe a thermos.
But all these extra things?where do the Americans put
them? How many times will you use a taco-shell holder?
'Oh, I really need this silverware-drawer sorter or I
will have fits.' Shut up, stupid American."
Chen added that many of the items break after only a
few uses.
"None are built to last very long," Chen said. "That
is probably so the Americans can return to buy more.
Not even the badly translated assembly instructions
deter them. If I bought a kitchen item that came with
such poor Mandarin instructions, I would return the
item immediately."
May Gao of the Hong Kong-based labor-advocacy group
China Labour Bulletin said complaints like Chen's are
common among workers in China's bustling industrial
cities.
"Last week, I took testimony from several young female
workers from Shenzhen who said they were locked in a
work room for 18 straight hours making inflatable
Frisbees," Gao said. "Finally, the girls joined hands
on the factory floor and began to chant, 'No more
insane flying toys for Western pigs!' They quickly
lost their jobs and were ostracized by their families,
but the incident was a testament to China's growing
disillusionment with producing needless crap for
fat-ass foreigners."
Continued Gao: "As Chinese manufacturing and foreign
investment continue to grow, and more silly novelty
products are invented, we can expect to see more of
these protests."
In the meantime, Chen continues to stew in bitterness.
Though he dislikes his work, competition for
manufacturing jobs in Fenghua is stiff and he must
support his wife, mother, and 2-year-old son.
"My cousin Yuen is self-employed," Chen said. "He
disassembles old computers that are acquired from
overseas and extracts the traces of valuable gold and
silver from the circuit boards. He asked me to join
him. The work is very toxic, but at least I would not
be looking at suction-cup razor holders and jumbo-dice
keychains all day."
Chen added: "For now, I must refuse the job. Somehow,
the only thing more depressing than making plastic
shit for Americans is destroying the plastic shit they
send back."
from http://www.theonion.com/content/node/31049
Cheers,
Teemu
Helsinki, Finland
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