The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce is offering a trip to China for a low package price of about two grand, not including transportation from Peoria to Los Angeles. But why? For what purpose? The Journal Star reports:

A visit to China will not only open the eyes of business leaders, but their minds, said Rob Parks, president of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce.

The article doesn’t say specifically what Ms. Parks believes business leaders have their minds closed to. The rest of the article just quotes her saying that the country is very old, very populous, and very friendly. Participants will get to tour the usual sights (e.g., the Great Wall), but will also hear from “Chinese business leaders.”

I wonder if there will be anyone from Amnesty International to speak to our business leaders about China’s widespread human rights violations. It bothers me that the Chamber is cheerleading for doing business in/with a nation where “torture and other ill-treatment continue[s] in prisons, police stations, Re-education through Labour camps, and other unofficial detention facilities” and where hundreds of thousands of people are incarcerated by police without trial, to name just a few human rights abuses.

On the other hand, human rights abuses effectively keep labor costs down. And heaven knows we’ve got to compete with Wal-Mart and other superstores who already exploit cheap Chinese labor. So I guess it’s best not to think about things that might prick the conscience. It’s not good for business.