I never saw any Chinese toys when I was a
child. Most of the toys I played with were made in Hong Kong. Many of them were
battery operated. Some toys were made in Japan and they were more expensive.
Toys that came from Europe and USA were even more expensive. Today the toy
market is dominated by Chinese toys. I was wondering how they got the knowhow
and what happened to the toys made in Hong Kong. Then I realised that since
Hong Kong is now a part of China, the toys made in Hong Kong may be labelled as
made in China. Moreover the Hong Kong toy manufacturers may have started large
manufacturing facilities in China. Chinese toys are cheap and of good quality.
When I was in the Maldives, I used to buy
cream crackers made in Singapore. They were good and I bought them regularly.
The shops stocked different types of biscuits. One day, I thought I would have
a change and bought a packet of cream crackers made in china. It was a little
cheaper and the packet was bigger. I expected it to contain more cream
crackers. When I opened the packet, I was surprised to see that they were
arranged with gaps in between, in order to make the packet look bigger. I felt
cheated. It did not taste so good either. On another day, I was looking for
some good biscuits in a shop. I decided to settle for the one with the most
attractive packaging. I noticed that it was made in china. I took it home and
ate just two biscuits. It tasted bad and I got a stomach ache. I thought maybe
it was old. I checked the expiry date. It was new. I threw away the rest. I did
not want to risk my health.
Only a good product can get repeat
customers. Good packaging can only get the first time customer. I don’t think I
will ever buy Chinese biscuits anymore.
