March 16, 2009
Yesterday marked the 27th World Consumer Rights Day, an anniversary which is observed in China with a consumer rights-themed gala aired on CCTV1 and a sudden outbreak of articles about exposed consumer rights violations on newspaper front pages.
Today’s Beijing Times highlighted a quack product called “Good Memory Study Pillow” in its top headline. The product claims to have a memory boosting effect to help with students’ academic performance.
March 16, 2009
The newspaper also addressed the expired drug issue in Beijing with a big photo showing a woman drug peddler selling medicine that has passed its expiry date in a market around the Hujialou (呼家楼) area of Chaoyang District. An page-five article reveals that the main consumers of the medicine are people with low incomes, including migrant workers and elderly citizens.
Another Beijing-based newspaper, Beijing Morning Post followed the CCTV “March 15th” gala:
Last year the program exposed Focus Media’s abusive mobile advertising practices including sending spam and obtaining personal information of mobile users through dubious means. This year mobile phone spam was still a prominent consumer complaint, featuring on the CCTV March 15 show.
Confirming earlier speculation about China Mobile’s involvement in spam dissemination, the CCTV program found that China Mobile’s Shandong branch works hand-in-hand with advertising companies to send spam to its users. To allay possible risks, the company has apparently adopted a technology that filters out the government officials from the receivers’ list.
Stopping fake products is a big theme in the Consumer Rights Day. Several newspapers reported on local authorities organizing information booths to inform the public how to distinguish fake products from real ones.
The big image on the Beijing Morning Post shows officials from the Administration for Industry and Commerce in Beijing’s Xicheng District telling pedestrians how to identify real erguotou, Beijing’s favorite booze that’s about half alcohol.
The problem of fakes is not limited to only physical products: The Beijing News reported that He Haibo, an assistant professor from Zhejiang University, was fired and barred from teaching again for forgery. Several university officials were also punished for their involvement in the incident.
- Beijing Times (Chinese): Outdated medicine is sold in Beijing
- Xinhua (Chinese): China Mobile’s Shandong branch is accused of disseminating spam SMS messages
- The Beijing News (Chinese): Zhejiang University fired an assistant professor for forgery