Is there some kind of moral equivalency between Wall Street’s ‘toxic debt’ disaster – which has terminated some of the world’s largest investment banks – and China’s now notorious scandal involving poisoned milk powder – which has killed an unknown number of innocent toddlers and sickened tens of thousands of others? According to this op-ed from China’s government-controlled Global Geographic Times, the culprits at the San Lu Milk company – just one of a number of Chinese firms that added the industrial chemical melamine to their milk powder – fell victim to something that is far more endemic to Wall Street – Greed. The article says in part:
“”Many Western media have accused the Chinese milk powder business of lost ethics. But when Wall Street runs into trouble, where are its critics? Who impugns its conscience? … What the media have said is that lax supervision, poor management, a disregard for personal reputation and so on – are the causes of the Wall Street crisis. As if the consciences of Wall Street’s brilliant managers could still be clear after having stirred up such a cesspool of ‘toxic’ securities, into which they threw the money of the Chinese people and people around the world. As if they were just well-intentioned people who committed an honest mistake.”
By Ding Gang (???
Translated By Mark Klingman
September 27, 2008
Global Geographic Times – People’s Republic of China – Original Article (Chinese)
Yesterday I received an e-mail from a friend in the United States saying that there is a joke circulating in the U.S. It goes like this:
“Yes, its true, China sells us toxic toothpaste, toxic pet food and toxic toys, but we sell them toxic bonds.”
Upon my first reading of the e-mail, I became a little indignant. The United States has created a financial crisis, but wants to make Chinese products the scapegoat? After giving this some thought, I realized that it was more of an “in joke,” referencing the so-called “toxic” Wall Street bonds. A few defective products hardly compare to these “securities” which have shaken the confidence of the world’s investors and would be more aptly called “poison wrapped in sugar!”
This reminds me of another joke that I read a few days ago which was carried in the Wall Street Journal. It was an editorial entitled Did Wall Street Drink ‘San Lu’ Milk? It now appears that they had it backwards, confusing cause and effect: San Lu got sick on Wall Street’s poison. San Lu’s milk powder and Wall Street both ran into trouble and both became “adulterated.” Their problems have a common cause: greed. No matter how clever Wall Street is at its methods of “adulteration,” its founder still makes his presence felt – and his name is Greed.
[Editor’s Note: A number of Chinese firms have been accused of adding the nitrogen-rich chemical melamine to watered-down milk to fool quality checks, which often use nitrogen levels to measure the amount of protein in milk. Melamine is used to make plastics, fertilizer, paint and adhesives. It is said to be safe to consume in small amounts].
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