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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.