Mattel Apologizes to \"the Chinese People\"

Mattel Apologizes to \"the Chinese People\"

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Mattel was forced to deliver a humiliating public apology to ‘the Chinese people’ on Friday over the damaging succession of product recalls of China-made toys that the US toymaker has announced in recent months.
In a carefully stage-managed meeting in Beijing with a senior Chinese official, which, unusually, was open to the media, Thomas Debrowski, Mattel’s executive vice-president for worldwide operations, read out a prepared text that played down the role of Chinese factories in the recalls.

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Mattel is a very old established corporation in the United States. We all grew up playing with their toys. While raising my children, I always assumed that Mattel's offering were of the highest quality and safety. Whenever one was found to below standard, you could count on Mattel to make it right.

Mattel has recalled the tainted products that were produced in China. They have now apologized to "the Chinese people". That should certainly lend fodder to the hordes of lawyers that are licking their chops.

I find it very hard to believe that Mattel's engineers would design defects such as lead paint into a product. I just can't believe that the product's specifications didn't include a prohibition on lead.

Is it only the financial interests that caused Mattel to apologize, or could it be something much deeper and more political?

sci_tchr

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