Don’t Just Sit There! Just from my recent experience with batteries, I have to say, “Thank goodness life is not made in China.” The cell phones my carrier mandates are made in China. After two months, the first battery could hold no charge. The earlier phones were made elsewhere and lasted seven years. Similarly, the 17-inch Apple laptop made in Taiwan and purchased eight years ago is still going strong with its original battery operating at 70% capacity. The Chinese-made 17-inch Apple laptop bought two years ago is already on its third battery.

Some of us prefer to pay for well-made products that operate effectively, yet when we try to buy a cell phone, landline phone (or almost anything else you care to name) that has not been made in China (usually with as many short cuts as possible to maximize profits) it proves practically impossible. The ubiquity of it all makes for a grim shopping experience.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group, has launched “CSR Champion Training” – an innovative programme to cascade corporate social responsibility goals to the grassroots hotel level and the communities in which Shangri-La operates.

The objective of the CSR champion training is to equip staff with necessary skills and knowledge on formulating, prioritising and implementing CSR initiatives by taking account of different cultures and local needs.