"The Chinese Dilemma"

The Western dilemma regarding doing business with China is this:
if I do business with this country, buying their products will greatly improve the living standards of thousands, or,
if I do business with China, buying their products spreads the growth of forced labor camps, where workers toil long hours in miserable conditions for a pittance.

Which argument is right?

Companies like Boeing bank on the former, because it's to their advantage to do so; consumers like us do so because it stretches our dollars farther. Good arguments can be made for either position, and Randy Alcorn's book, "Safely Home," chronicles that hard choice...

Business executive - and nominial Christian - Ben Fielding is excited about the potential in the huge Chinese market for his company, Getz International. Already manufacturing computer parts in China, the company is poised to seize the lead over other American companies, in the eyes of the Chinese, by sending Mandarin-speaking Ben to live and interact with Chinese citizens. This move will undoubtedly put Getz International ahead due to its show of respect and empathy for the people.

However, there are two catches: the Chinese government will choose whom Ben interacts with, and his intended host, a former college roommate, Li Quan, is not living the MBA life Ben assumes he is, back in China.

Alcorn's book is gripping and tense, and does not allow the reader to sit on the sidelines. It demands thinking, and maybe rethinking, about positions on doing business with a country which has one of the worst records of persecuting Christians.

Yes, Ben is a sympathetic character, closely alighned with most American thinking. He blunders good naturedly into the chinese socity...seeing, hearing, and reading what the government wants him to, while Li Quan quietly challenges his beliefs, both in religion and business.

The picture is not pretty, the dilemma difficult. You may not know how to decide, you may even be angry by the provocative questions this book poses, but you cannot be undisturbed.

by, Randy Alcorn

While marketed as fiction, Alcorn makes no secret of the fact that this is based on truth, acknowledging the help of those who must remain unnamed for their safety in China. "Read this book and you may never be the same again," goes one endorsement: I believe it to be so!

Frances Rotter

A Big Thank You.........

.......to all those generous donors of books to our church library! Many of you have remained anonymous, but please know that we appreciate your gifts. Know that any duplications are passed along to either the retirement home, or to the fledgling Methodist Church library, where all donations are equally appreciated.

As for your library, please note the formation of a new "Classics" section. No, not Chaucer and Shakespeare, but good, solid, old-time authors like Taylor Caldwell and D.E. Stevenson, who wrote good stories that wouldn't make you blush.

Another new venture is the family friendly movie section, just beginning with such movies as "Amazing Grace," "The Ultimate Gift," and "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." As funds allow, it is our intent to form a collection of movies for families to enjoy together, including old favorites like Disney. Watch us grow!