Being a consumer is about choosing, buying, using and enjoying... or not.

In a bid to beef up consumer protection, the China Consumers Association called on the public to continue to focus on consumer education during an international forum on consumer protection yesterday in Beijing.

Mu Jianhua, standing vice-president and secretary-general of the association said consumer education should be comprehensive and include building an advanced consumer culture and the concept of correct and scientific consumption.

He said China is large, has an unbalanced economic development and there is a huge difference between cities and the countryside. Therefore, education should be adapted to best suit local conditions.

"There are a great number of Chinese consumers, most of them are not well-educated and lack knowledge of the law," said Teng Jiacai, director of the consumers right protection bureau of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

He said it is important to popularize consumer protection knowledge and help them with a legal approach, he added.

According to Teng, since the establishment of the 12315 hotline for customers in 1999, his administration has received more than 2.24 million appeals and helped save more than 4.4 billion yuan (US$483.7 million) for customers through mediation. A total of 1.29 million cases were investigated.

Marilena Lazzarini, president of Consumers International, said unenlightened consumer education is a common phenomenon in developing countries, which are dozens of years behind some of the developed countries.

She said her organization is fighting to include consumer education as part of basic courses in the educational system.

She emphasized that schools and parents need to recognize that they have a responsibility to teach children to become wise consumers and to realize that the kids are, in fact, being bombarded with advertising messages from a very early age.

Consumers International, which has a membership of more than 250 organizations in 115 countries and regions, concluded its 2004 council meeting on Monday, the first time it was held in the Chinese mainland since the organization was founded in 1960.

Lazzarini said she is trying to have the meetings not only in places where the organization is based but also in the member countries.

"We chose Beijing this time because we are greatly impressed by the achievements made by the China Consumers' Association," she said. "We want to show our appreciation to them and this is also a good learning trip."

She said as more than one fifth of the world's 6 billion consumers are in China, the most populous country, consumer protection has become more and more important due to the economic development of the country.

She was amazed by the country's huge annual celebration of International Consumer Rights Day, which falls on March 15.

Since 1991, headed by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, several related departments and media have launched a series of publicity activities around March 15, presenting a feast to Chinese residents and disclosing a large batch of fraud artifices and illegal behavior that have seriously damaged the rights and interests of customers.

Lazzarini said developing countries face new yet similar challenges and China has set a good example for all its partners in the third world.

(China Daily October 27, 2004)