China bans Thai 'voodoo dolls'
A student shows off four of the Thai-made rope dolls that have been banned by China because people there believe they have black-magic powers.
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Restrictions on Thai-made goods might be common hurdles for exporters or manufacturers when it comes to product quality, but makers of a handmade doll have been hit by a ban in China that few could have foreseen.
Chinese authorities been banned the dolls - made mainly of ropes, steel wires and threads - because of concerns they possess black-magic powers and have obsessed young Chinese buyers, who use them against people they hate. Chinese officials acted on complaints from parents that their teenage children had performed black-magic rites on their dolls - including piercing needles into them - in the belief that they could harm people they hate, said Kanya Thuailai, manager of Saen Ha Co Ltd, which produces the dolls. Kanya said the ban had affected her company quite drastically, as China was the main buyer of the dolls. Her company produces about 60,000 dolls each month. It also exports them to Taiwan, Japan and the US. She said the dolls, made in 70 styles, generated around Bt3 million for her company and the more than 250 villagers in Chiang Mai's Doi Saket, Chaiya Prakarn and Mae Rim districts who produce the dolls. She said the problem began two years ago when retailers in Taiwan started marketing the toys as voodoo dolls that could be used to harm other people. "But there are no problems elsewhere except for China, after parents petitioned authorities, complaining that their children were obsessed with the black-magic frenzy," she said.
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