Amway banned from China
[April 30, 1998]
Amway was among a number of direct marketers banned from China in April, an edict which set off riots that killed four people. According to the Associated Press [April 30, 1998], "Participants in the schemes, akin to pyramid swindles, have besieged sales offices and scuffled with police in at least three Chinese cities. China's State Council, or Cabinet, issued the ban 10 days ago out of concern that direct marketers were preying on the poor and uneducated and inspiring superstition and cults." Now that US President Clinton is in China for summit meetings, the issue may arise. The Box News Service reported [April 26, 1998], "Such a prospect is likely to cause a stir in a U.S. Congress which is aware that Amway Corp., its top officers and their wives are `among the nation's largest soft-money givers,' according to Common Cause. The advocacy group reports that they have given more than $4 million to the Republican Party since 1993. In addition, Amway spent $1.3 million subsidizing the telecast of the 1996 Republican convention on a cable channel." Mary Kay and Avon were also included in the ban.
A
