The real cause of China's export scandal

As a result of the recent scandals involving deadly mistakes made by Chinese exports, China is experiencing an international loss of credibility and a reduction of its export-led economic growth. This is not the end of the world for China, but it does point to an endemic problem, and I believe that it is a problem that can be fixed and should be fixed now if China is to continue on its path.

Chinese workers are, and have always been, among the very best in the world. It is not in their blood to work incompetently or to make the kinds of egregious errors that have marred China's reputation abroad. They are however people, and there is something that's true of people no matter how hard working or ethical they are. And that is, if people are sick and overworked, they become more error-prone and make the kinds of mistakes that they would not make if they are healthy and adequately rested.

The problem is this. Chinese workers are working so much, and breathing in so much pollution, that not only their health falters, but so does their productivity. No matter how good a worker, or how good his skills and his ethics, if he is not healthy, he will make mistakes. The more mistakes, the less appealing the exports, the smaller the export revenue, the worse the prospects for sustaining China's economic growth.

Nobody of any goodwill or intelligence in the West wishes ill to the working people of China. There are many people in the West who take issue with Chinese government's policies to Taiwan, Falun Gong and Tibet; there are some who want China to be a more free society; there are some who are afraid of China's military capacity; there are some who are unhappy that their jobs have gone abroad; and then there are people who simply want to see the Chinese people have better lives. Many countries in the West have discovered that the last do not at all need to conflict with production. In fact, workers who are healthier and more rested are more productive and less error-prone, as well as more loyal to the countries that have given them their rights and improvement in their condition. And since the escalating errors in production are now threatening China's exports, it would also benefit Chinese economy to do the same.

Yes, China is not as wealthy as some of the Western countries were when they seriously embraced pollution control. However the technology for smokestack filters and water effluent filters already exists, and its development costs have been borne by US, Europe and Japan. Putting them in operation on China's industrial installations should be good for China not only for environmental but also for economic reasons, as its people's health improves, they become less error-prone at work, and China can resume its export-led growth.

As for improving working conditions, giving people some time to rest, and reducing work hours, that should improve their health and productivity. Better health would reduce their errors, improve the quality of their production, and give China a better reputation unmarred by the scandals of recent months.

It should also improve their quality of life. Not only is that a good in itself - a real good for millions of people - but it also is good for the reasons that people who benefit from an order are more likely to be loyal to it than ones who do not. The last time I checked, China was listed as a socialist country. Worker rights have been the main force behind socialism, as well as behind improvements in workers' conditions in capitalist countries. To give Chinese workers these basic protections and freedoms, will improve China's standing abroad as much as it will improve its credibility at home, while effectuating an even better outcome: Real improvement in Chinese people's quality of life.

And at this time, it is a matter of economic import as much as it is that of human, political and environmental import to implement meaningful pollution reduction technologies in Chinese cities and better working and living conditions for Chinese workers. Their productivity depends on it, and so does China's financial and political strength.