Consumer protection in the Asian Context

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Consumer protection in the Asian Context

• PAMELA W.S. CHAN

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Boundaries of Asia

• Central Asia
• East Asia
• North Asia
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Southwest Asia

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UN Millennium Development Goal

• Under Weight Children Under 5
• - Globally declined by 1/5, 1990-2005
• - Eastern Asia - greatest reduction
• Children going hungry
• - Southern Asia
• - Saharan Africa

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UN Millennium Development Goal

• Global poverty
• - those living under US1/day ?
• - Poverty Reduction -Eastern Southern
  Asia ?
• - Western Asia ? poverty rates more than
  doubled 1990 2005
• - Econ Growth Unequally Shared

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UNCTAD ICT Report

• Subscribers of mobile phone in developing
  countries tripled in last 5 years
• 58 worldwide
• ICT brought rapid modernization

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Consumer Protection Laws

• In Most Countries, incl. Nepal, Mongolia, Vietnam
• In process Laos, Bhutan, Cambodia
• Middle East - not yet

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Consumer Laws/ Framework

• Many under review
• - Australia
• - ASEAN countries
• - China
• - Hong Kong

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Consumer Rights

• Right to Satisfaction of basic needs
• Right to Information
• Right to Choose
• Right to Safety

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Consumer Rights

• Right to Representation
• Right to Redress
• Right to Consumer Education
• Right to a Healthy Environment

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China 9 Consumer Rights

• Right to Information
• Right to Choose
• Right to Safety
• Right to Fair Trade
• Right to Receive Compensation

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China 9 Consumer Rights

• Right to Obtain Knowledge
• Right to form social groups
• Right to demand respect of personal dignity,
  national customs
• Right to exercise supervision over commodities
  and service..

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China Consumer Law

• Protecting Farmers
• Double Damage
• Business operators found to have committed
  fraud..shall compensate consumer with a sum
  doubling what the consumer have paid

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China - Centralized Framework

• National Level
• State Adm Industry Commerce ( SAIC)
• China Consumer Association
• State Level
• Provincial AIC
• Provincial Consumer Association
• City Level .
• County Level ..

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Centralized framework

• CCAs role enshrined in law
• Accountable to governing board chaired by
  President, who is Vice director of SAIC
• Have no regulatory duties
• Consumer policy advocacy
• Mediate complaints
• Consumer education etc

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China Consumer Protection Framework

• Over 3,500 Consumer Associations at Provincial,
  City and County Levels
• Consumer Protection Bureau under SAIC
• Hotline - 12315

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Consumer Rights Day

• March 15th referred to as 315
• Senior govt officials available to answer hotline
  calls
• Businesses launch sales
• Celebrated as Mothers Valentines Days in
  advanced economies

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Pooling Resources

• Big challenge 1.3billion consumers
• 22 provinces and 4 cities with over 10m people
• Henan and Shantung provinces over 92m
• - more than 4 times Australias population

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Pooling Resources

• Serving 1.3 billion people
• - CCA 66 full time employees
• - other CAs 15 -20 employees
• 656,863 complaints
• 5.6 million enquiries

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Pooling Resources

• Annual campaign theme
• Co-ordinated projects
• - 2004 study into 10 industries
• - 2006 11 CAs studied hospital practices
• Findings forceful advocacy tools

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China - Issues of Consumer Concern

• Cities like advanced economies
• Rural areas like LDCs
• Cities
• - telemarketing, e-shopping, education, cell
  phones, properties, cars

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China - Issues of Consumer Concern

• Rural Areas
• Poverty
• Food security
• Access to clean water

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China Quality of Products

• Nov 2007 - Aqua Dots
• - 4m pieces recalled
• - children in coma Australia, New Zealand
  US
• Mattel 21 m toys recalled

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China Quality of Products

• Product Safety
• Corporations responsibility to ensure safety
• Mattel admitted company came up with faulty
  design, toys made in China in accordance with
  specifications

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Product Safety

• Regulator
• - Independent certification
• - Inspection
• - Mandatory labeling down to component level
• Label tells final place of manufacture only

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Challenges Ahead

• The Vulnerable Consumer
• - Sub-prime crisis up to Feb, 08
• US losses 150 billion
• Japan stock market 13 ?
• HK stock market 14?
• UK,Germany, France loss 350billion
• combined GDP of Hungary Greece

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The Vulnerable Consumer

• Not only the rich, the investors homebuyers
  affected
• Senior citizens hurt by negative interest rates
• Small investors lost lifes savings
• Access to basic needs impeded due to inflation
  economic downturn

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The Vulnerable Consumer

• Globalized economy beyond control of
• Individual consumers
• Individual governments
• International collaboration necessary

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The Vulnerable Consumer

• Crisis despite internationally agreed standards
  such as Basel 12
• Shocking cases
• - Enron
• - Baring Bank
• - Societies Generale

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The Vulnerable Consumer

• Why has the system failed?
• Needs independent voice at international and
  national levels, like
• - consumer rep at ISO, Codex Alimentarius
• - consumer panel in UK, Australia
• Consumer bodies be equipped

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The Virtual Consumer

• Digital Natives - Born after 1990
• Digital Migrants - Born before 1990
• Two different Worlds
• Virtual VS Physical

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The Virtual Consumer

• Virtual World
• - source of information
• - entertainment
• - socializing
• - transactions
• Values, culture, lifestyles different

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The Virtual Consumer

• Virtual products weapons, houses land
• Entrepreneurial activities selling virtual
  products, hacking skills
• New languages

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The Virtual Consumer

• Existing policies/laws catered for physical world
• Are policy makers/consumer orgs aware and
  prepared to make changes?
• How to protect consumers effectively in the
  virtual world?

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The Virtual Consumer

• Consumer organizations
• - Reaching Digital Natives
• - ICT for knowledge transfer bridging gap
  between countries digital divide within
  countries

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The Asian Consumer

• Traditional Medicine ( TRM )
• Complementary Alternative Medicine ( CAM )
• Asia is blessed with ancient cultures use of
  traditional medicine, e.g. India, China, Nepal
  Mongolia
• CAM is increasingly used in DCs

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The Asian Consumer

• WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2002-2005
• - framing policy for TRM CAM
• - protects indigenous knowledge
• - ensures safety, efficacy quality
• - enhances access

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The Asian Consumer TRM

• European Directive
• Registration Procedures of Traditional Herbal
  Medicine
• - Member states to incorporate the EU TRM laws
  into national laws in 18 months

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The Asian Consumer TRM

• Two consumer concerns
• - differentiate authentic safe TRM drug from
  health products with dubious claims
• - protection of medical plants, traditional
  lifestyles livelihood of traditional communities

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The Asian Consumer TRM

• Protection of indigenous resources knowledge
• - base on agreed terms and informed consent
• - equitable sharing of benefit
• Convention of Biological Diversity silent on
  benefit sharing

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The Asian Consumer TRM

• Australia well positioned in taking lead
• - support further research
• - promote access equitable use of TRM
• Sets example for other countries

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The Asian Consumer Street Food

• 40 of daily diet of urban consumers in
  developing world
• Threatened by globalization and urban development

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The Asian Consumer Street Food

• Consumers Internationals Campaign to
• - recognize as legitimate activity
• - persuade local authorities to improve
  sanitation waste disposal
• - to provide affordable hygiene courses for
  vendors

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Conclusion

• Issues of concern change over time
• Consumer policy is about social justice
  peoples right to participate and contribute
• Strong consumer institutions strong independent
  consumer movement are vital

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Conclusion

• Asian wisdom
• Story of Two Monks

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Consumers in the Asian Context

• THANK YOU!