Chinese TVs snooping on us?

Beggers belief why do people still buy Chinese stuff. Their regime is mocking our current covid crisis:

Why blame China for our own incompetency? They are a rival country and always take advantage of the situation. We didn't follow Covid protocols, didn't upgrade health infrastructure, set up industries and now we are deep neck into the Pendamic/Economic crisis. People are losing jobs, no money, hence they will always try to save some $$$, no matter where the product was sourced from - just my 2 Cents.
 
Why blame China for our own incompetency? They are a rival country and always take advantage of the situation. We didn't follow Covid protocols, didn't upgrade health infrastructure, set up industries and now we are deep neck into the Pendamic/Economic crisis. People are losing jobs, no money, hence they will always try to save some $$$, no matter where the product was sourced from - just my 2 Cents.
I think there are efforts to start building competency within the country but it’ll be a very long while before we become self reliant…if we ever get there.

But unfortunately the dependence on China most likely will always be there. For ex: China I think has 90% of rare earth metal reserves which are very critical for electronics. Similarly raw materials for EV batteries (Germany I think found some lithium reveres. So at least that’s some good news)

Like the earlier FM said, we could only do so much at an individual level. Real change is possible only via regulations.

I was dead against buying anything from AliExpress…but when I came across items that were 1/3rd or 1/4th the price…I bought a few. But I limited my shopping to very low cost items like TV remotes etc… :p
 
Why blame China for our own incompetency? They are a rival country and always take advantage of the situation. We didn't follow Covid protocols, didn't upgrade health infrastructure, set up industries and now we are deep neck into the Pendamic/Economic crisis. People are losing jobs, no money, hence they will always try to save some $$$, no matter where the product was sourced from - just my 2 Cents.
Did you even visit and read the link I posted? No matter how incompetent we may have been does this give them a right to mock our dead people?

Lest you forget they gave us this dreaded disease in the first place! I do agree our government has been complacent and incompetent. Holding election rallies and allowing religious gatherings is also unforgivable.

But, nevertheless we would still have been in a crisis situation because the double variant caused an exponentiation rise in infections in a very short period of time.
 
Lucky you liked or can afford a Samsung phone or American DAC. The problem is that supply chain is to be disrupted for a change to happen. I started shopping on Aliexpress only after I saw that Amazon India was filled with same items which double or triple the cost. Why should I pay extra for the stuff that I can import at a fraction myself? Even Parts-Express in US was filled with Chinese stuff.

I thought about it a lot if I should consider boycotting Chinese stuff. My mindvoice was: Indian Government does not have any issues about it (It could have easily imposed a trade ban on moral grounds). I see that vast majority of the India business community has no qualms about importing from China (circumventing some bans by importing from shell companies setup in Taiwan). The IT bigshots whose donation to various charities have been spoken about as nobility in social media did not wind up their branches in China. Why should i let my conscience bother about it when the rest care a zilch and merrily profiteer?

I dumping Chinese goods to a costlier alternative would impact my personal finances. At a philosophical level, I do want to think that my contribution, even if it is a tiny bit, would make a statement. But, I would prefer serious policy making from Government over kid glove punches from a mango man's wallet.

Funny that the Chinese public have exact opposite mindset you to what you have!

 
Funny that the Chinese public have exact opposite mindset you to what you have!

They can afford do it now. They would not have done it in 80s. They have clones of every technology available with them. They control the supply chain of all industries. Most of Indian industries are at their mercy. The reality is that we have lost this round but need to prepare for the future so that we are not forced into submission. As a citizen, I hate the hurt inflicted by Chinese and as a consumer, I do not hate Chinese products. When vast majority of economy are ok with it, i don't mind others thinking me being less patriotic.
Anyways this is a huge diversion from OP's intention. AFAIK, modesty of my privacy was first violated by Android, commoditized by FB and plagiarized by Chinese devices. Nobody thinks about Blackberry who were raising voices on behalf of the consumer! Hail consumerism ;-)
 
There is no alternate "Viable" option. Got to gulp it down and continue to order :cool:

I respectfully and fiercely disagree.

There is no alternate, viable or otherwise?

Most of us at this forum would only ever buy "lifestyle" items from China that are "not essential for daily life functioning". For everything on which life depends, is for sure available from non-Chinese sources.

There is no alternate for a cheap 75 inch TV? Sure there is - don't buy a 75 inch TV - stay happy with 55 inch you got. Would we still be craving for a 75 incher 10 years ago? In 10 short years a 75 inch TV has become such an "essential" item that we must buy it even from a source that (1) Spies on us (2) Compromises our privacy (3) Causes us national insult and rubs it in?

While China continues to be a double-faced dragon - saying one thing in press releases / media addresses and doing the bang opposite (vis-a-vis Covid supplies, border conflicts etc etc) - we continue to be meek sheeps saying we don't have alternative! We are merely hiding our own weakness that we can't compromise on our ego and can't ignore the peer pressure. I must get a 75 incher because "someone on a forum" got one too? Is it that hard to not visit a forum, or keep away from threads that keep causing us the upgraditis?

The only "essential" items these days are "Computers, entry to mid-level smartphones, basic networking hardware". Most of the rest of the Chinese products we buy are completely "non-essential". At least not important enough to make us "swallow" our social and personal pride. Particularly after being in full knowledge that Chinese openly taunt us Indians for being what we are being.

My intent is not to step over any sensitive toes, but seriously! 75 inch TVs, latest R2R DACs, or the Bluetooth receiver with the latest CODEC are not essential items. We should be, with a very little help from our inner self, able to avoid the greed and save us from falling in to the "but there is no alternative" trap. Because there is! We just don't want to leave our comfort zone and yet want to save every last Rupee we can, while still trying to be cool guy with the latest in gadgets.

If we could give up the greed of the latest and greatest at the cheapest possible price we can certainly beat the Coronavirus.

PS: I recommend reading up on how Japan put itself together from the ashes of nuclear attack and become the manufacturing hub of the world and 2nd largest economy in 4 short decades. Spoiler alert - they became staunch nationalists and said no to everything foreign for a very long time.
 
Lucky you liked or can afford a Samsung phone or American DAC. The problem is that supply chain is to be disrupted for a change to happen. I started shopping on Aliexpress only after I saw that Amazon India was filled with same items which double or triple the cost. Why should I pay extra for the stuff that I can import at a fraction myself? Even Parts-Express in US was filled with Chinese stuff.
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I thought about it a lot if I should consider boycotting Chinese stuff. My mindvoice was: Indian Government does not have any issues about it (It could have easily imposed a trade ban on moral grounds). I see that vast majority of the India business community has no qualms about importing from China (circumventing some bans by importing from shell companies setup in Taiwan). The IT bigshots whose donation to various charities have been spoken about as nobility in social media did not wind up their branches in China. Why should i let my conscience bother about it when the rest care a zilch and merrily profiteer?

I dumping Chinese goods to a costlier alternative would impact my personal finances. At a philosophical level, I do want to think that my contribution, even if it is a tiny bit, would make a statement. But, I would prefer serious policy making from Government over kid glove punches from a mango man's wallet.

You have made some seemingly valid points. I am so so tempted to address them. But I'll avoid the temptation, because it's not a personal thing between you and I, and it should never become one.

But for the benefit of everyone on this thread, I must hasten to add that -

(1) Govt can't ban imports at the state level because it will become an international legal matter with huge consequences.
(2) Large importers import because there is a market. If their stock stops moving they will stop importing. They are merely exploiting our greed for their profit.
(3) Kid glove punches are mighty weighty, if you put 1.4 billion of them together. At individual level they might be kid-glove punches, but 1.4 billion of them is a lot more powerful than the impression we are living with.

PS: Please don't interpret me as attacking you personally, because i'm not. I ask for forgiveness if it appears so.
 
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