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TITLE: Recalling Responsibility.

An American toy company recalls millions of toys made in China. A Chinese executive kills himself. Two American children fall into a coma after swallowing Aqua Dots beads manufactured in China. A Chinese reporter is jailed for trying to expose labor safety issues in Chinese factories. A Chinese factory worker's health suffers from exposure to the toxic lead paint he works with everyday. The American toy company apologizes to China, taking responsibility for recent toy recalls and admits they were due to "design flaws". The Chinese manufacturers of the toys are not to blame for the massive recalls.

It's a confusing snapshot.

When Mattel Inc. recalled over 20 million toys made in China for toxic lead paint, as well as for the presence of magnets that could be easily swallowed by little children - and other issues - the media and the world stopped to notice. Like many parents, I went to the toy room and grabbed every toy I could find that was made in China. My mind was mired in questions. How could this happen? After all, there's the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials), EN71 testing (European standards), Canadian Toy safety standards and CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) guidelines. How did 20 million products slip past the scrutiny? How far back does the problem go? Will the recall shed more light on the Chinese labor situation and manufacturing practices? Who is responsible?

Someone, it appears, did take responsibility. Cheung Shu-hung, who co-owned Lee Der Industrial, the Chinese company that had manufactured many of the toys, committed suicide by hanging himself. Cynics might suggest that, just because Mattel lost over 30 million dollars, he didn't have to self-destruct. Who would kill himself over a few million dollars in a multi-billion dollar scenario? Was it just the public humiliation? Was this the act of an individual experiencing a sudden cathartic awakening to morality in a society that somehow has never appeared overly concerned with the welfare of its workers? Or was it something else?

Conveniently, Shu-hung's death somehow managed to help China sweep the story under the carpet. In fact, according to MSNBC, " it is common for disgraced officials to commit suicide in China".

Indeed, China's abysmal track record relating to labor abuses has been swept under the carpet for a long time, notwithstanding the fact that it has been extensively documented: poor factory conditions, workplace injuries and fatalities,

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