Trading with a country like China is complex, but we feel that it is one way of encouraging positive changes that benefit people living and working in the country. Given the poor human-rights record of the Chinese state, particularly regarding Tibet, should we be trading there at all? We consulted the Tibetan Government in exile and were told that the Tibetan people's dispute is with the Government of China, not its people and since it is the Chinese people who would suffer they are not in favour of a trade boycott.
One of our Chinese suppliers already has a 'Relief Fund' and they provide scholarships to children at a primary school in North China. The school wanted to begin computer training for their 800 pupils, so we funded everything they needed, including nineteen computers.
We have also made a direct donation to an organization aiming to improve access to education in the mountainous regions to the north of the country, where teachers struggle with financial hardship and trying to operate in impoverished communities, where access to even basic teaching materials is very limited.
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