EXCERPT FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
18 Chinese Managers Executed for Shoddy Quality (Unverified)
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BEIJING -
Eighteen factory managers were executed for poor product quality at
Chien Bien Refrigerator Factory on the outskirts of the Chinese
capital.   The managers - twelve men and six women - were taken to a
rice paddy outside  the factory and unceremoniously shot to death as
500 plant workers looked on.  

Ministry of Economic Reform spokesman, Xi Ten Haun, said the action was
required for committing unpardonable crimes against the people of China.
He blamed the managers for ignoring quality and forcing shoddy work,
saying the factory's output of refrigerators had a reputation for
failure. 

For years factory workers complained that many component parts did not
meet specification and end product did not function as required.
Compressors were cracked, leaked freon and the electrical components
were sub-standard.   Complaining workers quoted the Plant Manager as
saying "Ship it". 

Customers, who waited up to five years for their appliances, were
outraged, he says.  "It is understandable our citizens would express
shock and outrage when managers are careless in their attitudes toward
the welfare of others."

Refrigerators are among the most sought after consumer items in Communist
China.

"Managers in charge of production and engineering failed to
perform any useful corrections to the quality problems for the last 20
years" Haun said.   "Our soldiers are justified in wishing to bring
proper justice to these errant managers." The executed included the
Plant Manager, the Quality Control Manager, the Engineering Managers and their
top staff.

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