A fake story with real moral value

Extract from the Star 21 May 2006 / chinadaily.com.cn

BEIJING: As he held a photograph of a red Ferrari two weeks ago, EU Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security Franco Frattini screamed: “Look at this car. Of this model, Ferrari has produced only six cars. This is the seventh one, produced in China.

The footage of the media conference at the European Union Commission headquarters in Brussels was flashed across the world, making us wonder whether we should celebrate the deftness and technical brilliance of our Chinese brethren for matching the best in the world or hang our heads in shame for having cheated a company and violated intellectual property rights.

Fake products are found and produced in many countries, including developed ones. However, the attention seems to be placed on China presently. Honestly, the problem is very serious in this country.

There’s no good justification for buying or wearing fakes. The only possible excuse could be that some people believe they deserve the perception of owning “luxury” products without, at times, having to pay astronomical amounts to buy the real thing.

But again, as long as fakes are available in the market, there will be buyers. It’s a vicious circle and the debate can go on. All I want to say is that fakes are giving China a bad name, something that it can certainly do without.

The developed world is already wary of China’s meteoric rise. It accuses us of undervaluing our goods and dumping them into other countries’ markets. It imposes unjustifiable fines on “made-in-China” products. It wants to save its domestic markets, but wants us to open ours fully. We are charged with wreaking havoc on the environment. In fact, we are made the scapegoat for every possible wrong.

The added burden of having to clear ourselves of the counterfeit accusations won’t make our case any better. That many of the fakes’ buyers are from the developed world is another story with maybe another moral.

But the moral of our story is simple: Help China by not making and buying fakes. - CHINAdaily.com.cn ”