[国际新闻] “中国制造”面临全球信心危机

英国《卫报》7月7日载文《中国制造：污染食品、假药和问题油漆》，摘要如下：
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　　中国正面临全球消费信心危机，该国食品安全监督机构本周承认它所检查的国内产品中，有1/5无法达到最低标准。在美国爆发大量食品污染丑闻后，这个世界上最大的出口国在奋力证明它可以兼顾数量与质量。国家质量监督检验检疫总局7月3日在声明中表示，在2007年上半年，供应国内消费的产品有19.1%不合格。在小公司生产的产品中，不及格率接近30%。 ) Y7 t. w3 x9 e, t0 W" c x

　　50岁的女商人石英（音译，Shi Ying）表示她十分担心食品安全，买东西都变成了难题。“我不敢吃养殖鱼类或肉，因为它们很多都被喂了生长药物或者被注入有害的添加剂。我担心蔬菜有农药。在喝水之前我都要想一下，因为水里可能有重金属。”
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A Chinese farmer with his harvest of catfish which he bred on his farm in China's eastern province of Zhejiang.
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　　尽管石女士生活在作为全国最先进的城市之一的深圳，她开始自己种菜，少吃肉，只饮用好口碑的瓶装水或家用井水。在逛商店时，安全考虑会摆在爱国心之前。“我觉得外国食品没那么危险。虽然它们可能不新鲜，但我信赖来自美国、欧洲和日本的产品，因为这些国家保护环境。”

　　尽管最严重的事故发生在国内市场，但国界之外都可以感受到这种回响。中国用廉价货物填充沃尔玛、乐购（Tesco）、森斯伯瑞（Sainsbury）的货架。但随着它的世界存在加大，对其安全的关切也在加大。

　　首先是美国的猫狗因受污染的宠物食品中毒死亡。然后，在美国和英国召回超过一百万Thomas & Friends玩具火车，因为它们涂了来自中国的含铅油漆。然后，在美国，独立日的烟花被撤回，因为它们可能朝意外方向发射。多数这些丑闻发生在美国，在那里，食品安全迅速成为世界上最大的消费者和生产者之间的贸易战的一条阵线。 + N. Y# j  P% S6 P1 g2 k$ o

　　其他国家也表达了关切。据欧盟贸易专员曼德尔森（Peter Mandelson）的说法，欧盟发现的半数假冒伪劣商品源自中国。日本也呼吁提高安全标准，新加坡、澳大利亚、巴拿马和多米尼加共和国已经召回数百万管中国制造的牙膏，据说当中含有危险水平的毒素二甘醇。 6 M2 w8 @, Q  K/ W1 c/ U* _

　　尚不清楚这究竟是代表了不安全产品的猛增，或者只是说这个问题在贸易摩擦加剧时期获得较广泛的报道。但这个问题对中国企业的威胁在增加。

　　为了应对这些关注，政府7月4日表示要为口腔护理产品起草新的安全规定。北京还承诺修订其他产品的检查体系。上月，政府公布第一个改善食品和药品安全的五年计划。今年上半年它关闭了一百八十家食品工厂。* v+ N% _! R( Z$ M$ V& }
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Made in China: tainted food, fake drugs and dodgy paint
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World's biggest exporter faces a global crisis of confidence as scandals grow over the quality of many of its goods
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China is facing a global crisis of consumer confidence as the country's food safety watchdog acknowledged this week that almost a fifth of the domestic products it inspects fail to reach minimum standards. Following a number of contamination scandals in the US, the world's biggest exporter is struggling to prove that it can match quality with quantity.

In the first half of 2007, 19.1% of products made for domestic consumption were found to be substandard, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a statement on Tuesday. Among products made by small firms, the failure rate was nearly 30%.( y8 L/ X( w3 f" U: c6 P

"These are not isolated cases," Han Yi, director of the administration's quality control and inspection department, told the state media. Underlining his concerns, officials said hundreds of bottles of fake human blood protein were found in hospitals and excessive amounts of additives and preservatives were detected in children's snacks.
The trust deficit is enormous and growing. Shi Ying, 50, a businesswoman, said she was so concerned about food safety that she found it difficult to shop. "I dare not eat farmed fish or meat because most are fed with growth pills or pumped with bad additives. I worry about vegetables in case they are tainted with pesticide. I even think twice about the water I drink because it might contain heavy metals."

Although Ms Shi lives in Shenzhen, one of China's most-advanced cities, she has started to grow her own vegetables, eat less meat and drink water only from respected bottled brands or the family well. When she does have to shop, she puts safety above patriotism.
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"I think foreign food is less risky. Even though they are not as fresh, I trust products from the US, Europe and Japan because those countries protect their environments. Sometimes when I see foreigners blithely eating raw lettuce in Chinese restaurants, I worry for them."人在德国社区. O* J* Y7 ]$ e8 s0 [2 J( n
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While the worst violations are in the domestic market, the repercussions are felt beyond the country's borders. China fills the shelves of Wal-Mart, Tesco and Sainsbury's with low-price products. But as its world presence has grown, so have concerns about safety.人在德国社区1 P7 F  n# }9 ^7 ~' o9 ^
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First, there was a mysterious spate of cat and dog deaths in the US this year that was later attributed to tainted pet food from China. Next, in the US and UK, came the recall of more than 1m Thomas & Friends toy trains coated with poisonous lead paint from China. Then, independence day fireworks were withdrawn in the US because of their dangerously unpredictable sense of direction.% G7 E8 e, Z) F( b- z8 c

Most of these scandals occurred in the US, where food safety is fast becoming a front in the trade war between the world's biggest consumer and producer.

"I think we have reached a point unfortunately where Made in China is now a warning label in the United States," said a Democratic senator, Richard Durbin, recently. The issue also topped the agenda of recent talks between the US treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, and the Chinese vice-premier, Wu Yi.' ~  s$ D4 X1 {- j8 X6 Z
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Other countries have also expressed concern. Last year Peter Mandelson, the EU trade commissioner, said that European customs officers had seized fake birth control pills and HIV drugs from China. According to Mr Mandelson, half the counterfeit goods found in the EU originate in China.

Japan has also called for higher safety standards, and Singapore, Australia, Panama and the Dominican Republic have recalled millions of tubes of Chinese-made toothpaste that allegedly contained dangerous levels of diethylene glycol, a toxin.人在德国社区8 ]% {/ B0 L$ {# W

It remains unclear whether this represents a surge in the number of unsafe goods or simply wider coverage at a time of rising trade friction. But the threat to China's business is growing.8 f7 B, ~( A7 M/ P1 P# T

In an attempt to quell concerns, the government said yesterday it was drawing up new safety rules for oral care products. Beijing has also promised to revise its inspection system for other products. Last month, the government published its first five-year plan for improving food and drug safety. It closed 180 food factories in the first half of this year and seized tonnes of sweets, pickles, crackers and seafood tainted with formaldehyde, illegal dyes and industrial wax.; Z7 d% N, t; n1 B1 L& F+ R  g

But the government also stands accused of reacting slowly to scandal rather than dealing with the root causes: a lack of trust in the safety standards of a country with a profit-first economic policy and a secretive, unaccountable political system.  {* @* C/ K6 D" P$ _0 G4 H
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Public confidence has not been helped by an official response that includes denial and scapegoating.

"I think it would be better if the media would stop playing up this issue," a foreign ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, said this week. Last month, the former head of China's food and drug agency, Zheng Xiaoyu, was sentenced to death for accepting 6.5m yuan (£425,000) in bribes from pharmaceutical companies to expedite the approval of new drugs.

Media reassurances are unconvincing. "More than 80% of China's products are up to standard," the Business Daily said yesterday. It was not meant ironically. This was a gain on the previous year.人在德国社区: y$ r' U1 S4 l" @6 G+ v6 y

Along with health and the environment, consumer safety has been one of the biggest victims of the rush to get rich. The domestic market has probably been affected more than international trade because export standards are higher than for goods sold in China. Last month, food inspectors said paraffin wax, dyes, formaldehyde and cancer-causing compounds were detected in food produced by unlicensed and small producers.

There have also been scandals related to fake or poorly made drugs. Last summer, 11 people were killed by antibiotics that contained diethylene glycol, an industrial toxin. In 2005, two boys in Guangdong province died from rabies after receiving bogus vaccinations. A year before, at least 50 babies in Anhui province died and more than 100 were malnourished after being fed fake milk formula, some of which had only 6% of the vitamins, minerals and protein needed for a growing infant.  G! q: ?4 W0 l* Q3 N

[ 本帖最后由日月光于 2007-7-8 21:17 编辑 ]

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