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Activists: Environmental Activist Based in China

You are an investigative journalist who seeks to reduce pollution from Chinese manufacturing by stimulating concern among western consumers.

Your Background and Biography

You were born in a city in southern China in the late 1960s, and your passion for fairness meant you fought a lot of schoolyard bullies. You became a journalist after college, living in mainland China while writing for a newspaper based in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s legacy as a British colony gave writers more freedom to publish articles critical of the Chinese government, and you became known for your investigations into China’s rapidly growing state-owned businesses.

Your big break came in the late 1990s. As China became a major manufacturer of the goods purchased by Americans and Europeans, you told the world how that production was damaging China’s environment—and the health of its people. Your exposé on water pollution helped to catalyze environmental activism among China’s emerging middle class. You decided to move from journalism into more direct activism and founded an environmental activist organization.

Today your organization is running a campaign to get western consumers to consider the environmental performance of manufacturers and to buy products made in more responsible ways. You document pollution in China, then share that information to pressure producers to make positive changes.

In the Sustainability Seal negotiations you will advocate for the people whose health is jeopardized by the pollution associated with rare earth production. You recognize that in China official laws and government regulations do not necessarily protect people. Transparency and visibility are thus important to you in these negotiations so that western consumers can learn when their goods are harming people and put pressure on manufacturers and producers to use better practices.

Your Mission

Your goal at this hearing is to convince the Stewardship Council to include the Activists Group’s recommendations in its final Sustainability Seal guiding values. To make this argument effectively, you must do the following:

  • Complete the assigned readings listed at the bottom of this page.
  • Work closely with the other members of your group to develop clear answers to the Stewardship Council’s questions.
  • Use as much specific information as possible to develop strong arguments for your position that the price of sustainably certified rare earth metals needs to cover the true cost of production and environmental protection, and investment in innovative production methods should be promoted to reduce social and environmental harms.
  • Read as much as you can about your position and the positions of the other groups.
  • Complete written reflections on your character, interest group, and readings as assigned.

Your Victory Objectives

  • You will receive 10 points if the Stewards select your group’s proposal as the final Sustainability Seal guiding values.
  • The Stewards will rank the interest groups by how well their goals are represented in the final Sustainability Seal guiding values. You will receive between 1 and 4 points based on how the Producers Group is ranked and how well the Sustainability Seal guiding values reflect your goals.

Sources

Group Sources

Individual Sources

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