顺便发一个我朋友圈里头的故事：我一位在欧洲生活的朋友担任起义工帮本地某个NGO购买医用口罩，结果请看详情。
These days the pandemic has taught me a few things. One of them is, every story has two sides. Here is what happened two weeks ago.
I was involved in a volunteer group to help an NGO to purchase protective medical masks in China for a country in Europe.
Irena is a lead volunteer from that country. And we are in a group chat. I am one of the two Chinese in that group, all other members are that country's nationals.
Irena: I found one supplier in China, can anyone check their credibility?
Me: let me have a look.
After 20 mins.
Me: I do not recommend this supplier. First of all, this supplier is not on the Chinese government list; secondly, this supplier only started producing masks in February this year. I wouldn't trust such a new company. On social media or Baidu, I can't find any news about this company. I suggest the brand xxx, they are in the industry for over 20 years and is on the government list for medical masks export.
Irene: Your recommendation is double the price of my supplier.
Me: I understand. But we should put quality before price. We are talking about protecting the medical staff's life.
Irena: hmmm, I don't know. My suppliers look good.
Me: I don't have 100% trust. Let's choose a supplier that is on the government list.
Irena: we need a democratic vote. Your supplier is too expensive.
Me: OK but please choose a manufacturer that is on the Chinese gov list at least. Remember Spain bought test kits from China that don't work well? It turned out that the manufacturer is not even approved in China and thus not on the government list. We have to be vigilant about the quality, as these medical equipments are for someone's life, it is no joke.s
Irena: but with my supplier, our budget can buy twice the quantity comparing to your supplier.
Two days later.
After the group's democratic vote, they decided to go with Irena's recommendation.
My heart ached. I can't stop thinking what would happen to the medical staff in that country when wear masks from a manufacturer that is even not approved by Chinese government and has no record or legacy in the market.
It is easy to critise Chinese products' quality. I often do so myself. Yes there are a lot of manufacturers out there whose products are just not good. But in the end, the choice is, in the buyer's hand. Next time, if I hear a story that involves low quality, instead of only accusing the Chinese manufacturer as I always do, I will also ask the buyer :did you do your due diligence? Did you do everything that you can to make sure the quality is good before purchasing?
Every story has two sides.
