Olympic Games of Shame and Sorrow

OLYMPIC GAMES OF SHAME AND SORROW.

People that will go to China for the 2008 Olympic Games taking place from August 8th to August 24th., -willl only see the incredibly beautiful buildings, and facilities that have been built in Beijing for this event.-

The huge skycrapers, spacious streets of Beijing, modern stadiums, etc.- They might not know that the flowers, smiles, harmony and prosperity that are being shown to them are built on a base of grievances, tears, sweat, imprisoment, torture, blood and all other horrors of a communist society.-

Has everyone forgoten the terrible massacre in Taiananmen Square that took place on June 4th., 1989 ?

China has been supplying arms to Venezuela, Cuba, and caused the genocide in Sudan by supplying them more than 83 million dollars in weapons, aircrafts and spare parts in 2005, and is still suplying them these arms in exchange for OIL.-

In the “real” China.- The China that is keept in the dark, in secret,- to avoid tourists to see,- workers are treated more like slaves than human beings, and there are children, as young as 7, 8 and 9 years old who are forced (by their own parents) to work in “sweatshops” for 10 and 12 hours every single day,- since it is the only way the will be able to eat or survive.-

The mayority of the population live in shaks, or apartment buildings where sometimes there are more that 10 people living in a 1 bedroom apartment.-

These are the lucky ones.- Others, live in the street, under big boxes with tin roofs. Many times going to sleep without anything to eat.-

More than 100 million rural chinese have moved to cities, in hope of making more money and working less hours, but end up regreting the move, since working conditions are usually the same, and sometimes even worse.

In Songang, one of the many industrial suburbs of China, in the city of Shenzhen.- There are miles after miles of Box-Like factories making affordable clothes, toys and electronic goods for Western Countries.

One out of 3 pair of shoes in the world are made here.- But these sweatshops use very cheap labor, very low standards of safety, extreme heat, no ventilation, no lunch hours, and some workers work from 15 to 17 hours a day, without very much to eat, and hardly any time to sleep or rest.-

There have been many deaths reported in Songang, as well as many other industrial cities.- All kept secret by the restriction of press in this country.-

Guangdong Province now has a booming economy and accounts for half of China’s GDP, but this is thanks to the millions of migrant workers who are desperate enough to accept long hours, very low pay and dangerous working conditions, because the alternatives back home, are much more worse.

These factories are kept well hidden from public view.- And what many people do not realize, is that this is the reason of the HUGE deficit we have in the U.S.A.

Many that work in the EPZ (Export Processing Zone) on the Pearl River Delta in Southern China, are victims of Chemical poisoning, including children. They have absolutely no medical assistance, and once they get sick, they are simply fired, which most of the times means death to them for lack of medical care.-

Most of these sweatshops prefer to employ women and children, because they are easier to handle.- Women come mainly from rural areas, where they have always been oppressed for thousand of years, and are therefore more humble and obedient, even when they are unscrupulously exploited.

Most of them live in the factories campgrounds,- 3 or 4 of them in the same room. They might have 7 or 8 toilets for 100 of them.

China is one of the most repressive countries in the world, not only towards labor, but in many other factors as well. We must not forget this “IS true Communism in all the sense of the word.-

I sometimes wonder, if the people going to Beijing for the Olympic Games, or the ones who will watch it on television, have bother to ask “HU JINTAO”, – the President of The People’s Republic of China, how many innocent workers have died in order for him to build this Olympic City.-

As far as I am concerned, I will repudiate and BOYCOTT in every way, shape or form I am capable of,- these Olympic Games, which are an insult to democracy and human rights.

It is also embarrassing and outrageous that the U.S. government is backing up this “farse”, by sending our representatives to participate in this games, which shows nothing else than an agreement and sanction to the Crimes to Humanity commited by the government of this communist country.- What kind of an example are we reflecting to the rest of the world ?

The whole world condemns the repression of this Contry by the dictatorship of “HU JINTAO”,
as the most cruel and inhumane in our universe.- And yet, millions of people will either go to the Games, or watch it on T.V.-

I do not accept, in any way, shape or form, that sports and the Olympic Games should not be
affected OR LINKED to political situations.-. We are not talking about “Politics” here,- “We are talking about “HUMANITY”,-and only the poor citizens of that country,- those that will have to stay there forever, are the ones that can feel the pain of this situation.

CHINA has spend Billions,- building and preparing the facilities for these games, while, on the other side, the mayority of the citizens of that country have no place to live, and have to work like slaves to be able to bring very little food to their tables.

The other ones, the priviledge visitors that can go to the GAMES,- will stay there for the duration of the GAMES, and then leave,- back to their usual democratic, comfortable and happy “homes”.-

I am sure that not a single one of them, will think for one moment, of the missery and pain of the people they leave behind !

This is WHAT HAS BECOME OF OUR WORLD !

May God forgive them., because I, for sure, never will !

Eva de la Torriente Diaz

China strives for offshore outsourcing supremacy

Source: www.offshoringtimes.com

Communist China is vying to become the favored global offshore outsourcing destination. With many a government initiative in this direction, it is indeed making calculated moves to achieve offshore outsourcing supremacy.

Strong government initiatives, an education system creating a larger skilled work force, and unique economic conditions has positioned the country to challenge even India for dominance in offshoring.

Long the favorite outsourcing destination for manufacturers thanks to its low wages, China is striving to move up the value chain and capture a major share of the global IT and back-office services market, as well. However, China has substantial challenges to overcome, as do companies looking to set up operations there.

Atul Vashistha, CEO of the offshoring consulting firm neoIT in San Ramon and co-author of the book “The Offshore Nation: Strategies for Success in Global Outsourcing and Offshoring”, says “China is definitely becoming a more attractive destination.”

He further says that the nation’s IT industry had until recently been focused on the country’s own developing market and on business from Japan, but in the last couple of years that has changed. The Chinese government is attempting to unify efforts of various organizations to promote the country’s IT parks and special economic zones for outsourcing from the United States and other Western countries. It is also studying outsourcing industries in India and the United States.

While those efforts are much more fragmented than similar moves in India, they are starting to come together, Vashistha said.

China is an attractive candidate, especially for IT outsourcing. It offers many of the same characteristics that have made India the top offshoring destination for IT and other services. Despite moves to open its economy over the past two decades, China remains economically aloof from the rest of the world, with wages that are far lower than in most places and a cost of living that makes those wages possible. At the same time, central control over the education system has created a widely distributed skilled labor supply.

A number of outsourcing centers have developed – best known among them, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Dalian, where 40 years of Japanese occupation (1905 to 1945) left Japanese language skills and a cultural orientation that has helped that region in northeastern China develop business relationships with Japan. Although the country still lags behind India, large American IT companies such as IBM Corp. have opened up operations in China, as have prominent Indian outsourcing firms, including Bangalore-based Infosys Technologies Ltd., which has its U.S. headquarters in Fremont.

Still, China faces sizable challenges. Cynthia Kroll, a senior economist at UC-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business who has researched global outsourcing, cited institutional differences as one difficulty. India is much closer to the United States in an institutional sense, making it easier for U.S. companies to set up operations there, she said.

In larger Chinese cities or areas where the national government has taken an interest, the government will address infrastructure and other problems, Kroll said. But in smaller and more remote cities, companies may encounter less-accommodating local governments and practices, and those areas also will be less Westernized.

Another challenge is a lack of mid-level managers with global experience, Vashistha said. With China’s huge market, businesses have focused on domestic – not global – operations.

A major challenge is language, but the Chinese government has been working to overcome that obstacle with several campaigns launched since July 2001, when Beijing was awarded the 2008 Olympics.

Vivi Wang, Chinese editor in chief of the Taipei-based educational publisher LiveABC, which publishes English-learning materials for Asian markets, said local government organizations around Beijing have made learning English a priority. The goal is to have more people speak English – taxi drivers, shopkeepers and people on the street. The government wants to use the Olympics to showcase Beijing as an international city and believes English proficiency will help.

NeoIT’s Vashistha predicts China will become a serious contender for IT and back-office outsourcing after the Olympics.

While China’s main attractions include lower wages and a large skilled labor force, labor markets in major Indian cities such as Bangalore have been getting tighter, driving up both wages and turnover.

Responding to that contrast, San Ramon-based Achievo Corp., which offers software and IT outsourcing services, has focused on China. Achievo’s chairman and CEO, Robert P. Lee, said China’s pervasive education system is an advantage, as it spreads skilled labor into smaller cities.

Achievo has set up operations in several Chinese cities and plans to open more, on the premise that as wages rise in larger metropolitan areas, the company will still be able to maintain savings for clients.

Going beyond the major cities could have additional advantages, Lee said. A high proportion of workers in larger cities have migrated from other parts of the country. In China, where family is highly valued, working closer to home is a substantial perk, even if the pay is lower.

As American companies have learned in India, recruiting and retaining skilled workers are among the most difficult challenges. Lee stressed the importance of overcoming high turnover, since it affects efficiency as well as cost.

Lee said his company also maintains a larger front-end staff in different countries – with a ratio of two IT staff in the client’s country to every seven in China – to help project efficiency.

These factors leave much for companies to consider. Lee says that companies need to look at the strategic role of their outsourcing and see if there are advantages in a particular country.

NeoIT’s Vashistha, who has consulted on outsourcing in several countries, offered three main points to consider: strategy, source and governance. He said a company should begin by looking at its processes and its ability to outsource them.

Next, a company must look at the skill sets available in a particular country. If English is needed, China is probably not the answer, at least not yet; but for certain IT tasks – for example, software embedded on chips – then China has the experience and skills. Companies need to match their long- and short-term plans with abilities and trends in a country.

Finally, Vashistha said, companies must commit to investment in ongoing management of the operation and the outsourcing supplier.

Another strategic aspect for larger companies is presence. UC-Berkeley’s Kroll said that for many multinationals, the cost advantage is only a part of the decision. “If they want to sell in China, they have to have a presence in China,” she said, and outsourcing is one way to establish that presence.

And China’s massive market is a huge draw, giving it another advantage in the competition for offshoring business.

“China is more than up and coming; it is here in many ways,” said Kroll. And its role in IT outsourcing is definitely going to grow.

The Olympic Games of Shame and Sorrow

People that will go to China for the 2008 Olympic Games taking place from August 8th to August 24th., -willl only see the incredibly beautiful buildings, and facilities that have been built in Beijing for this event.- The huge skycrapers, spacious streets of Beijing, modern stadiums, etc.- They might not know that the flowers, smiles, harmony and prosperity that are being shown to them are built on a base of grievances, tears, sweat, imprisoment, torture, blood and all other horrors of a communist society.-

Has everyone forgoten the terrible massacre in Taiananmen Square that took place on June 4th., 1989 ???

China has been supplying arms to Venezuela, Cuba, and caused the genocide in Sudan by supplying them more than 83 million dollars in weapons, aircrafts and spare parts in 2005, and is still suplying them these arms in exchange for OIL.-

In the “real” China.- The China that is keept in the dark, in secret,- to avoid tourists to see,- workers are treated more like slaves than human beings, and there are children, as young as 7, 8 and 9 years old who are forced (by their own parents) to work in “sweatshops” for 10 and 12 hours every single day,- since it is the only way the will be able to eat or survive.-

The mayority of the population live in shaks, or apartment buildings where sometimes there are more that 10 people living in a 1 bedroom apartment.-

These are the lucky ones.- Others, live in the street, under big boxes with tin roofs. Many times going to sleep without anything to eat.-

More than 100 million rural chinese have moved to cities, in hope of making more money and working less hours, but end up regreting the move, since working conditions are usually the same, and sometimes even worse.

In Songang, one of the many industrial suburbs of China, in the city of Shenzhen.- There are miles after miles of Box-Like factories making affordable clothes, toys and electronic goods for Western Countries.

One out of 3 pair of shoes in the world are made here.- But these sweatshops use very cheap labor, very low standards of safety, extreme heat, no ventilation, no lunch hours, and some workers work from 15 to 17 hours a day, without very much to eat.-

There have been many deaths reported in Songang, as well as many other industrial cities.- All kept secret by the restriction of press in this country.-

Guangdong Province now has a booming economy and accounts for half of China’s GDP, but this is thanks to the millions of migrant workers who are desperate enough to accept long hours, very low pay and dangerous working conditions, because the alternatives back home, are much more worse.

These factories are kept well hidden from public view.-

Many that work in the EPZ (Export Processing Zone) on the Pearl River Delta in Southern China, are victims of Chemical poisoning, including children. They have absolutely no medical assistance, and once they get sick, they are simply fired, which most of the times means death to them for lack of medical care.-

Most of these sweatshops prefer to employ women and children, because they are easier to handle.- Women come mainly from rural areas, where they have always been oppressed for thousand of years, and are therefore more humble and obedient, even when they are unscrupulously exploited.

Most of them live in the factories campgrounds,- 3 or 4 of them in the same room. They might have 7 or 8 toilets for 100 of them.

China is one of the most repressive countries in the world, not only towards labor, but in many other factors as well. We must not forget this “IS true Communism in all the sense of the word.-

I sometimes wonder, if the people going to Beijing for the Olympic Games, or the ones who will watch it on television, have bother to ask “HU JINTAO”, – the President of The People’s Republic of China, how many innocent workers have died in order for him to build this Olympic City.-

As far as I am concerned, I will repudiate and BOYCOTT in every way, shape or form I am capable of,– these Olympic Games, which are an insult to democracy and human rights.

It is also embarrassing and outrageous that the U.S. government is backing up this “farse”, by sending our representatives to participate in this games, which shows nothing else than an agreement and sanction to the Crimes to Humanity commited by the government of this communist country.-

Eva de la Torriente Diaz

The Miami Herald

April 23,, 2008